


Tangled up

by redcrayon86



Category: Coronation Street
Genre: Drama, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-04-18 11:43:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 21,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14212413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redcrayon86/pseuds/redcrayon86
Summary: Kate and Rana have finally confessed their love for each other, and Zeedan has agreed they can continue their relationship in secret. But can he keep up his side of the bargain? Or will he bring the whole deal crashing down on top of them?





	1. Chapter 1

“Good to see Rana and Kate finally made up,” Alya said, plonking a cup of coffee on the counter for Zee. “Though if you and Rana weren’t already married I’d be telling you to watch you back bro,” she added, bumping her brother playfully on the arm, “because the pair of them looked well cosy at The Rovers just now.”

Zee could barely contain his anger at the mention of Kate’s name. He turned his back to his sister so she wouldn’t see the rage on his face as he swallowed his feelings.

They were out in public together, he thought grimly. And they weren’t exactly being subtle about their relationship if Alya had noticed something.

Oblivious to his turmoil, Alya fiddled idly with a stack of papers Zee was working on, struggling to read his handwriting which scrawled out a list of ingredients, or possibly a menu...

“I’m just glad they’re over their lover’s tiff,” she added distractedly, squinting at the page.

“Shut up Alya,” Zee shot back angrily. “It’s Kate that’s the lesbian, not Rana, and they’re just friends so why don’t you keep your opinions to yourself.”

“Yeah, I know Zee”, Alya stammered, taken aback by her brother’s outburst. “It’s called a joke, look it up,” she said, dumping the papers back on the desk. “I guess you woke up in a bad mood this morning,” she said, eying him cautiously. “I’ll leave you to it, shall I”.

*********

Left to himself, Zee struggled to control the violent anger that threatened to engulf him or the images that played in his mind.

He thought about Kate and Rana kissing, like he’d caught them doing in his living room. He thought about them flirting with each other; about them holding hands and touching each other in public.

How could they do this to him?

Rana and he had made a deal, and she was putting it all in jeopardy. She’d promised that they’d keep it secret, that no one else would know. She’d promised him a year – here they were, barely a month in, and already she could barely keep her hands to herself. Everyone would notice. Everyone would be laughing at him.

He wasn’t going to let her make a mug out of him. They had a deal.

Zee picked up his phone and scrolled through to his recent call list, hitting dial on a number he no longer had saved in his contact list.

The tone rang and rang before clicking on the other end.

“It’s me,” he said, not waiting for a reply. “We need to talk because things have changed and I think you’d like to know the score”.

**********************

Rana and Kate toddled tipsily down the cobbled street, clutching each other’s arms for support as they giggled their way to Kate’s front door.

“Do you want to come up for a nightcap,” Kate offered with a twinkle in her eye. “I think Alya said she was going out tonight and Craig has a shift down the station,” she said, twisting her key in the lock.

The door lurched open, sending Kate with it, and the pair erupted into another fit of giggles as the smaller woman tried to help Kate back to her feet.

“I’m not sure about a nightcap, but I think I’d better had come up,” Rana said flirtily. “Someone better make sure you get to bed okay... I think you’re a bit drunk Kate Connor.”

“I think you’re right,” Kate replied, her eyes flitting to Rana's lips. “You better get me to bed.”

Rana resisted the urge to kiss the brunette there and then, instead pushing her through the door and closing it behind them as they came together in a tangled heap on the staircase.

“Now where’s that bed?” she gasped.

*************

Rana woke to the sound of pans banging in the kitchen and the pounding of blood in her temples. She and Kate had gotten a bit carried away the night before, emboldened by a couple of bottles of Toyah’s finest house red, and Rana had fallen asleep in Kate’s bed after a night of lovemaking.

Kate was snoring softly next to her, her dark brown hair fanned across the pillow and her mascara smudged beneath her eyes. She looked adorable, and Rana couldn’t resist planting a kiss on her bare shoulder.

“Mornin’” Kate mumbled in response, not bothering to open her eyes. “Oh god, my head... Still, I finally managed to get you to spend the night,” she said coyly.

“Shhhh, we’re not the only ones home,” Rana said nodding to the door, she gathered the sheets around her as she sat up. “Zee will be wondering where I am,” she said in panic, looking around for her phone.

“Babe, he’s not your keeper anymore,” Kate said groggily, rolling onto her back. “You don’t need to report to him. Relax — I’ll go make sure the coast is clear.”

Kate grabbed a pair of pyjama bottoms and jumper off the floor and planted a kiss on Rana’s lips. “You wait here and I’ll see who’s about”.

Carefully, so not to reveal her bedfellow, Kate creaked the door to her bedroom open and slipped through it into the kitchen. Alya was washing her breakfast dishes up in the sink.

“Hiya,” Kate breezed, making for the kettle.

“Good night?” Alya asked with a smirk.

Kate blushed instantly. “Er, yeah. It was alright, just had a quiet one down The Rovers.”

“A quiet one, eh? I’d hate to hear a wild one then,” Alya said, enjoying the look of pure panic on Kate’s face.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Kate said, grabbing the tea bags from the bench and a mug from the shelf.

Alya tutted, glancing at the mug. “Now that’s not very nice, is it? The least you could do is make a cup for your guest too.”

Kate spilled boiling water everywhere.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Alya,” Kate said, starting to worrying about the direction the conversation was headed in.

Kate's mind raced: Alya had heard her and Rana the night before — but clearly her housemate hadn’t put two and two together, otherwise she’d probably be wearing her drink instead of pouring one.

“Relax,” Alya said, picking up here keys off the coffee table. “You’re an adult and you’re entitled to your secrets... I’m off to work, so your ‘friend’ can come out now. Just, next time, try and keep it down will you? It’s hard to look you in the eye when I’ve heard your name said in the throes of passion,” she joked.

Kate smiled tightly. “Sorry. We’ll keep it down next time.”

“Nice jumper by the way,” Alya said as she headed out the door. “Rana has one just like it.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected visit from Rana's parents leads to an even more surprising offer...

Rana clicked the door shut behind her quietly, hoping to slip back into the Nazir house unnoticed, but a noise from the kitchen told her she’d been rumbled.

“Oh hello,” Zee said frostily.

He walked into the living room with a cup of tea in hand and plopped himself down onto the sofa without looking at her. “Good night was it?” he asked blankly.

Rana fumbled nervously with her coat sleeve.

“Er, yeah it was alright. I um, I lost track of time, you know how it is,” she said vaguely, edging towards the stairs. She wanted to take shower before heading off to work but she was cutting it fine — she and Kate had gotten carried away after Alya left, and she’d had to sneak out the front door without anyone spotting her.

“Your mum and dad called while you were out,” Zee said without tearing his eyes from the television screen. “I told them we’d meet them at Roy’s at 12.”

“What?” Rana shrieked in panic. It had been several weeks since she’d last seen her parents, and several more since they’d struck a deal with Zee to keep her locked into her marriage. She didn’t expect to hear from them again so soon (or ever, if she was being totally honest with herself) and the bile rose instantly in her mouth at the thought. “Why are they coming Zee?” she asked, confused.

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Guess we’ll find out soon enough. Only...” he looked her up and down critically, “you’re not going looking like that are you?”

Rana pulled her jacket around her self consciously. “I’ll go take a shower.”

“Yeah, you better. You know they don’t like it when you dress like a tart,” he said, flipping the channel.

Rana’s eyes pricked at the cruel remark, but she bit her tongue. She didn’t need Zee’s approval on how she dressed, and she didn’t need her parents’ either.

“I’ll be ready to go in 20,” she said, not waiting for an answer as she raced up the stairs towards her bedroom.

*********

Rana checked her watch for the tenth time then glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 12.15 and there was no sign of her parents. She’d have to leave in a minute to make her shift at the clinic, and she couldn’t be late — Moira was already on the warpath over her impromptu morning off.

At that moment, the bell above the cafe door jingled and Hassan Habeeb walked in, followed by his wife Saira.

“Zeedan. Rana,” Hassan greeted the pair coldy, sliding into the chair opposite his son-in-law. Saira sat down silently, her eyes fixed on the tabletop.

“Can I get you anything?” Rana said, plastering a smile on her face.

Her father returned it weakly.

“Sure. Two black teas,” he said loudly in Roy’s direction.

“Coming right up,” Roy replied from over the counter.

The four sat in awkward silence as they waited for their drinks to arrive and Rana sighed in relief when Roy broke the silence, placing the ceramic mugs on the table and sliding the sugar pot between them.

“Do shout if there’s anything else,” he said, turning back to the kitchen.

Saira took a sip of her drink as Hassan cleared his voice to speak.

“Your mother and I would like you both to go to Pakistan to visit her cousin,” he announced. “She has been unwell and your grandmother has requested our presence. But as we are unable to go together, we would like you two to go in our place.”

Zeedan scoffed loudly. “You want me to go to Pakistan to visit some relative you can’t even be bothered to see?” he asked incredulously. “No chance. I’ve got a business to set up, in case you’d forgotten — I don’t have time to go make small talk with someone I’ll never see again.”

He slumped back in his chair petulantly.

“Rana?” Hassan asked, turning his attention to his daughter.

“What about Imran, can’t he go?”

“It seems news of your brothers impending divorce has reached your mother’s family, so no, he cannot,’ Hassan said, lowering his gaze.

Rana wanted to say no, was _about_ to say no, when her mother interjected.

‘Given the circumstances, it would be a good opportunity for you to spend some time clearing your head and letting the dust settle here, don’t you think? Perhaps we can go together.”

“But I’m happy here, I’m—” she stopped herself suddenly. Her parents couldn’t know she was back with Kate, not yet.

“You’re what Rana?” Zeedan asked, scowling.

“I’m... I’d...”

Her parents waiting for a response but Rana couldn’t find the words.

“There we go then,” her father said finally. “It’s settled, Rana will go to Multan with her mother and Zeedan will stay here.” He turned to Saira. “You will tell them he is too busy with his new business to visit right now, they will understand.”

“Fine by me. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do,” Zeedan said, barely waiting for a reply before he bolted for the door.

Hassan smiled awkwardly at Rana for a few minutes before making his own excuses.

“We will come for you on Saturday morning, the flight is at 3 pm,” he said as he rose to his feet.

“What? But that’s tomorrow, I can’t just go on holiday, what about my job, what about...” she caught herself before she dropped the K-bomb.

“We already spoke to your boss, she has agreed it.”

So that was why Moira was so annoyed about her taking the morning off to spend with Kate...

“But, but...”

“The taxi will arrive at 10, so make sure you’re ready. And pack your hijab. This is not a beach holiday in Spain you’re going on, you’ll need to dress appropriately.”

With that, they got up and left, leaving a shell-shocked Rana to catch up. What was she going to tell Kate?

**********

“Kate it’s me, please pick up the phone,” Rana pleaded into her handset as she stuffed toiletries into her travel bag. “You’re not going to believe this, but I have to catch a flight tomorrow morning and I’m hoping you get this in time so I can say goodbye to you before I go to the airport”.

Growling in frustration, she hit the 'end call' button and threw the handset down on her bed. She’d called Kate four times without an answer, meaning the restaurant was probably busy, and she didn’t dare risk Robert’s ire by going around there to see her in person. (Robert had made his feelings about their relationship very clear.)

Rana laid out three of her best dresses, a pair of jeans and enough underwear for a week. She hoped that was enough. She’d been so surprised by her parents’ request she hadn’t even asked them how long she would be away for, but a conservative estimate (given the distance) was 7 days — 10 at most. She’d ask her mother in the morning.

Closing the lid of her case, she looked set her phone and saw the blank screen. One more time couldn’t harm, could it, she thought as she hit dial...

*****

It was midnight before Kate finally had a break. The restaurant on Victoria Street was closed (or had gone under, depending on who you asked) and they’d been rushed off their feet in the bistro from 7 until close. There were still a few punters drinking at the bar, but they were winding down for the night and Kate took the opportunity to steal a glance at her phone.

She was surprised to see eight missed calls from her girlfriend and felt a rush of anxiety as she dialled her voicemail.

“Kate it’s me, pick up your phone, will you. Listen, I’ve got to go away tomorrow to visit some family... if you get this message, call me. I’ll try and sneak out, only Zee’s on the warpath,” she said in a whisper.

Kate checked her watch; it was over an hour since Rana had called her, she was probably in bed asleep now.

And it was probably another hour or so before she’d clock off.

She fired off a quick text message.

_Sorry babe, just got your msg, work has been crazy! Finished at 1, that too late? Xxx_

Her screen lit up almost instantly.

_Long story, tell u when I see u. Not too late. Will sneak out. Xxx_

*********

Despite her best intentions, Rana must have fallen asleep. She glanced at the neon glow of her alarm clock and was surprised to see it read 4.30am.

A tap on the glass pane jerked her from her sleepiness.

“Rana...”

Rana pulled the curtain back to see a very chilly looking Kate huddled beneath her window.

“Sorry,” she gestured through the glass. As quietly as she could, she made her way down the stairs to open the front door and let the brunette inside.

“Kate I’m so sorry,” she whispered, planting an apologetic kiss on her cold lips. “I tried to wait up for you...”

“It’s not your fault, I only just got off,” Kate cut in. “There was a fight at the end of the night and the police have only just left. I’m sorry it’s so late, but I had to see you.”

“Are you okay?” Rana asked alarmed.

Kate shrugged.

“Bit shaken, but I’ll live. And I feel much better for seeing you,” she said leaning in to steal a kiss.

Rana glanced guiltily up the stairs towards the darkened bedrooms, hoping that the Nazirs were sleeping soundly. “Come with me,” she hushed, leading Kate through the living room and into the conservatory.

“I’m sorry for the cloak and dagger routine, but Mum and dad dropped by Roy’s earlier — they’ve booked me onto a flight to Pakistan that leaves in the morning,” she rambled.

“Wait, what? Pakistan”, Kate said, struggling to keep up. “But that’s really far away... Why’ve they just sprung this on you now?”

“I dunno. They wanted me and Zee to go and visit some dying cousin of my mum’s in Multan. Only he said no, and now I have to go with her instead.”

“Wow.”

They stood in silence for a moment, processing the situation.

“It just sounds a bit sudden, doesn’t it. But at least you don’t have to go with Zee... Could you imagine being stuck with him for a week having to pretend you’re a couple in front of your family?” Kate joked dryly.

“Yeah, how terrible eh Rana, having to pretend you married a mug like me,” Zeedan said gruffly, appearing suddenly at the French doors.

“Zee!” Rana stammered. “What are you doing down here, I thought you were asleep — it’s the middle of the night.”

He didn’t answer her question, just glared angrily at Kate. “Is this what it’s come to eh Rana? Midnight trysts with your girlfriend, under my roof.

The women were silent, unsure what to say.

“Get out,” he glowered.

Kate rolled her eyes.

“Zee...”

“I said, get out.”

Kate studied Rana’s face, trying to read what she wanted her to do. The petite woman looked frustrated.

“Kate, you better go,” she said apologetically. “I’ll call you from the airport, okay.”

Biting her tongue, Kate nodded. “Right.”

Kate held her chin up as she walked past Zee, who blocked most of the doorway; she wouldn’t let him intimidate her, even if he was chasing her out of the door...

Rana followed after her.

“I'm going to miss you,” she said gently, not caring if Zee was listening. “I love you.”

Kate gave her a small smile.

“I love you too. Always.” She kissed her softly and stepped out into the cold night air.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rana hopes her trip to Pakistan will help reconcile her with her mother. But little does she know what they have in store for her...

They hadn’t even left Manchester and already Rana was already frustrated with her parents.

Firstly, the taxi had turned up an hour early while she was drying her hair – and at exactly the same moment she got a text from her father saying she’d have to go to their house before the airport. They still hadn't told her how long they'd be away for, responding to her messages with curt one-word answers, or not at all. And to cap it off, her phone battery had died, meaning she hadn't been able to call Kate from the cab and would have to sneak off in the airport.

As the cab pulled onto the curb in front of her childhood home she saw a flicker of activity in the front window.

Her father appeared at the front door and beckoned her in.

A few moments later, her mother appeared, smiling next to him. Maybe this trip might be a good thing after all, Rana thought hopefully.

************

“Kate,” Imran’s voice boomed across the street as she tumbled out of the Kabin clutching a pint of milk and a cheeky packet of Hobnobs. “I’m looking for Rana, have you seen her?”

“Rana? She’s probably left for the airport by now.”

“The airport?”

“Yeah....” Kate said, slowing to a halt. “Didn’t she tell you? Your mum and dad booked her on a flight to Multan to visit some dying relative.”

“Dying relative?”

Kate raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to reply to everything I say with a question.”

“Sorry. It’s just — we don’t have any dying relatives in Multan.”

“Yeah you do. That’s where she’s going, and that’s what your dad told her...”

A look of panic crossed Imran’s face.

“Was this before or after he mentioned the fact that he knows you two are still seeing each other?”

Kate’s jaw dropped. “What?”

“They know. And they’re furious. That’s what I wanted to talk to her about — make sure she’s ok. They called me a few nights ago asking if I knew about the pair of you. Apparently, Zeedan dropped you in it,” he said, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

“Rana never mentioned anything!” Kate shrieked, her anxiety building. “What does this mean? Is she ok?!”

“I don’t know,” Imran said quietly.

**********

Zee woke to the sound of pounding on the front door.

“Zeedan, answer the door right now”, Kate screamed through the letterbox. “I mean it, I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where Rana is, so you better let me in.”

“Kate, please, calm down,” Imran pleaded, anxious about the attention the brunette was drawing from their neighbours.

But she only hammered on the glass pane even louder.

“Zee. Answer. The. Door,” she yelled.

Across the road, Sally and Rosie Webster watched with interest at the drama unfolding on the doorstep of number six. Imran shot Rosie a withering look, pleading with her silently to move on.

Kate was practically hysterical, her breathing ragged with panic. She banged again, harder this time, the glass bouncing in its frame under her fist.

“What?” Zee swung the door open, coming face to face with the worried brunette.

“Where is she Zee? Where have they sent her?”

“What are you talking about?” Zeedan asked bewildered.

“Rana. I know they know about us...” her voice strained. “Now where did they send her?!”

*******

Kate paced the Nazir’s living room frantically, biting her lip.

“Look, don’t panic ok,” Zee said unconvincingly. “They probably just want to put a bit of distance between the two of you, nothing more,” he said guiltily.

“Why would they want to do that, Zee? How did they even know Rana and I were back together? She hadn’t told them, she was too scared to...”

Zee looked away sheepishly.

Before they could get into it further, Imran interrupted, talking loudly into his phone. “And you’re sure it was a one-way ticket he asked you to book? What time does it depart?” he silenced Kate with a raised finger. “Thank you for your help.”

“Who was that?” Kate asked wide-eyed, the knot in her stomach lurching.

“My dad’s P.A. She booked two tickets to Multan departing today at 3 pm. Only, one of them isn’t scheduled to come back.”

“What?” Zee asked, struggling to follow the line of conversation.

Shell-shocked, Kate crumpled into the seat behind her. “Oh my god. They’re sending her away, aren’t they,” she sobbed.

“Kate...” Imran said gently, trying to comfort the woman. But Kate shrugged him off.

“You did this,” she yelled angrily at Zeedan. “Now you have to help fix it.”

Zeedan couldn’t bear to look at Kate, but he knew how she felt. His heart was beating out of his chest with fear. Kate was right, it was his doing... not their relationship, but outing her to her parents.... he’d done it not once, but twice, out of anger. And now they were punishing her.

He was angry with Rana, but he didn’t want to banish her.

But her parents would.

“Just tell me what to do,” he said softly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oblivious to her parent's real plan, Rana heads to the airport. But will Zeedan, Kate and Imran get there in time to save her?

There was no way Zee and Imran could expect her to wait behind while they went riding off to save the day, Kate thought angrily as she hunted through Rana’s belongings, looking for the Habeebs’ address.

She didn’t trust the pair of them as far as she could throw them: there was still the chance Zeedan was in on the whole thing, and for a solicitor, Imran didn’t seem to be able to stand up to his parents with anything resembling a backbone, never mind a judge.

“Zeedan?” Yasmeen’s voice trilled lyrically from downstairs.

Kate slammed the drawer shut and started on Rana’s dressing table, knocking a bottle of her perfume onto the wooden floor with a clatter.

“Zeedan, is that you?” Yasmeen repeated, her footsteps heavy on the staircase.

A few seconds later, she popped her head around the door. “Kate!” exclaimed in surprise. “What are you doing in my home?”

“I need to know where Rana’s parent’s live Yasmeen,” Kate said, without skipping a beat. She tipped out a jewellery box containing photos and some rings out on the bed, growling when she found nothing of use. “Do you have anything with their address on it?”

“Rana’s parents? I have their address in my book downstairs, but…”

“I need it. Please, just give it to me and I’ll explain later,” she said flashing Yasmeen a quick smile and grabbing the older woman by the arms in relief.

“You’ll explain now, young lady,” Yasmeen scolded, blocking her way down the stairs.

“I don’t have time, they’ll be leaving any second now…”

“Who? Rana’s already left for the airport–”

“I know,” Kate sighed, crossing her arms. “But she’s not going on holiday: her parents are sending her on a one-way trip to Pakistan, and Rana’s got no idea!”

Yasmeen rubbed her eyes. “I knew something was fishy about this whole thing. I mean, something else, aside from the fact they sold their daughter into a sham marriage for the sake of so-called ‘honour’...”

‘We can deal with them after, first we have to stop Rana from getting on that plane.”

“I’ll drive,” Yasmeen offered, pulling her car keys from her pocket.

Sometimes it took a princess to save a damsel in distress. Kate just hoped she wasn’t too late.

*****

“Bloody hell,” Imran shouted, hammering the steering wheel with his fist in frustration.

They’d driven across town in Zeedan’s van and in typical fashion, the damn thing had broken down.

“Look, we’re not that far now. We could still get there. I can call a cab, or we can run. It’s only a few miles,” Zeedan reasoned.

Imran rubbed his forehead. “We’ll be too late. They’ll be leaving now.”

“Ok, so we try calling her again. She’s got to pick up eventually.”

“She hasn’t picked up the last 5, why would she pick up now?”

“There’s got to be something we can do.”

Imran closed his eyes, wracking his brain for an answer. Was there?

The sound of a car horn blaring behind them snapped him from his despair.

“What the—”

A familiar set of dark brown eyes peered back at him in the side mirror.

Yasmeen. And Kate…

The pair ripped their seatbelts off and raced for the car.

“Get in. We don’t have much time” Yasmeen ordered, tearing off the curb before they’d even managed to shut the doors.

********

There was no sign of life inside the Habeeb household as they crept up the street slowly in Yasmeen's car.

Kate’s heart stopped in her chest. “I think I’m going to be sick” she murmured, opening the window to lean out.

Imran eyed her warily.

“I’ll go inside and check if they've left. You two, stay out of sight, ok” he ordered Zeedan and Kate as he headed around the back of the house leaving Yasmeen to find a parking space.

Kate could stay out of sight, but she couldn’t stay inside that car a moment longer. She felt like she could barely breath with Zeedan sat there, dumbstruck, on the back seat. She couldn’t be alone with him and Yasmeen, not for a second. At least, not without saying something she’d regret.

She hopped out of the car and spotted her vantage point. If she hid in the garden bush, she could see into the living room; if they were inside, then they wouldn’t be able to see her but maybe she could signal to Rana...

Before she’d had a chance to do anything, a taxi pulled into the street, and a moment later the front door swung open as Saira and Hassan appeared, towing three very large suitcases. Rana followed behind them.

Rana had never looked lovelier, Kate thought, as her stomach rolled with the familiar flutter of excitement her girlfriend's presence elicited. And she had never been more pleased to see her. As if on autopilot she stepped out from the bush and onto the path.

“Kate!” Rana said in surprise. Despite herself, she lit up with a brief smile before nervously glancing at her parents.

“What is that woman doing here?” Saira blazed in anger, stepping in between the two women. “You are not welcome here!”

“Rana, get into the car!” Hassan ordered angrily. Rana was so taken aback by his tone, she obliged. He had never raised his voice to her, not as a child nor as an adult.

“Kate I...”

Saira jabbed a finger in Kate’s face. “Leave right now! I will not let you bring any more shame on to this family.”

Kate kept her eyes on the prize.

“Rana, look at the ticket” she shouted, trying to get past Saira, who did an impressive job of holding her back.

“What?” Rana asked in confusion.

“Just look at the ticket”.

Saira darted for the car door, trying to block Rana’s way out of the vehicle. But Imran appeared around the other side of the car as Yasmeen trotted up the street behind him, blocking the taxi at the front.

“It seems you have some explaining to do,” he glowered at his father as he opened the passenger door for a stunned Rana, helping her to her feet. He placing a protective hand on her small shoulders.

“Come on sis, let’s get you home,”

“I don’t understand,” Rana stuttered. “What’s going on?”

“They’re sending you away Rana. For good,” Kate said softly.

“Mum?” Rana’s eyes pricked with tears. “Dad?”

They both stood in silence, burning with rage.

“Is the thought of me being gay really so bad that you’d get rid of me? For the first time in a long time, I’m actually happy. Why is that so hard for you to understand, or accept?”

“You do not deserve to be happy,” Saira spat. “You have brought such shame on your father and I. You are no longer part of this family Rana, do you hear me.”

Rana sagged beneath Imran’s arm.

“Then neither am I,” Imran said defiantly. “And what sad old people you will be without your children around you. See what the community thinks about that, eh?”

Kate folded Rana into her arms and placed a soft kiss on her temple as she led her away. She was broken, but she was safe.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rana might be safe, but what's next for her and Kate? And how does Zeedan fit into the picture?

“Look, why don’t I run you a nice hot bath? Craig cleaned it with scouring pad night so it will meet your high standards! And I think I've even got some bubbles...” Kate joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Rana was gazing off into the distance, trapped in her own thoughts.

“Penny for ‘em”, Kate said lightly, sitting down next to the smaller woman on the sofa.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” Rana replied sadly.

Kate smiled and shrugged.

“That’s the thing, you see. I do want to know. Because I love you. And it’s tearing me apart seeing you like this Rana, please... let me help you.”

Rana’s wet eyes shone back at her.

“You have helped. You saved me... but...”

“But what? You’re safe now.”

Rana laughed. “Am I?”

Kate folded her into protectively into her arms and peppered her with kisses.

“Yes, you’re safe. I’ve got you now, and no one is going to take you away from me. Do you hear me? I’m not going to let that happen,” Kate said determinedly.

“It might not be up to you,” Rana muttered.

“What do you mean?”

“If this is what my own parents did, what do you think their friends and family are going to do?”

Kate tried to soothe her.

“You’re being silly Rana, no one’s going to do anything to you. Not now.”

Rana shrugged her off.

“You don’t understand. You weren’t brought up like I was; they aren’t going to accept people like you and me. If my mum and dad can’t then there’s no way they will. I’ve brought so much shame on them.”

Kate grabber Rana’s hands in her own, and looked deep into her eyes.

“Listen to me. It’s them that should be ashamed, not you. And I am not going to let anybody hurt you, okay. We belong together. There’s nothing stopping us now Rana. You deserve to be happy – you have to believe that.”

Aliya’s key turned in the lock, and they both jumped apart as though they’d been scorched by hot coals.

“So why do we react like this?” Rana asked sadly, looking at her lap.

“I’m sorry.”

Oblivious to the atmosphere in the room, Alya bounded in laden with groceries.

“Hiya! I wasn’t expecting to see you Rana! Zeedan mentioned you were going on a family holiday,” she said, putting her shopping bags down on the kitchen counter.

“That’s one way of putting it,” Rana replied.

**********

“Rana is at Kate’s,” Zeedan said gruffly.

“I know, I came here to talk to you.”

Zee shrugged and stood aside, letting his Imran inside.

“I’ll make this quick. I want to know what you plan to do about the contract.”

Zeedan bristled. It was a fair question: after seeing the lengths Rana’s parents were willing to go to in order to maintain the marriage, Zeedan felt guilty for forcing Rana to continue the charade.

But he also couldn’t afford to call the whole thing off: he’d sunk a lot of money into the new Victoria Street premises and losing the Habeebs’ investment would bankrupt the business before he’d even opened its doors.

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly, sinking into the sofa.

“You know this can’t continue,” Imran continued, choosing his words carefully. “I still can’t believe they were going to ship her off like that –– you know as well as I do what happens to gay women out there. No matter what she’s done to you Zee, she doesn’t deserve that.”

Zeedan hung his head in shame.

Whether Imran knew about his role in the debacle or not, he wasn’t sure. But Zee would never have gone along with Hassan’s plan if he’s known he intended to kidnap her. The idea of something terrible happening to Rana, or even just of never seeing her again, hurt him more than he could bear.

“I can’t take the risk that they might try and pull another stunt like this,” Imran continued. “We need to break this contract.”

“I know.”

“Luckily for you, I have a solution.”

************

“So what, he’s going into business with Zeedan now?” Kate asked, incredulously. “But the pair of them can’t stand the sight of each other at the best of times, let alone agree on something.”

“I know,” Rana said, snuggling under Kate’s arm. “I couldn’t believe it when Imran said it either, but he said it’s the only way that Zeedan can afford to break the contract without losing everything. And I don’t want him to lose everything.”

Kate kissed her on the side of the head softly.

“You’re a better woman than I am. It’s him that got you into this mess.”

Rana laughed dryly.

“Now that’s not strictly true is it,” she said, lacing their fingers together. “I think me falling for you is what actually got us into this situation –– and I wouldn’t change that for the world. Everything else is just... fall out.”

“So does this mean that you’re leaving him, properly now?”

Rana considered the question thoughtfully.

“I guess so. I mean, there’s no reason for us to stay married now or to hide you and me. But...”

“But what?”

“I need to tell Alya first. It’s still... so... messy.”

“And we need to figure out where we’re going to live,” Kate added.

“We?” Rana said in surprise. “You mean you want to move in with me?”

“I want to spend every day of my life with you, Rana,” Kate said gently. She looked around at her tiny flat. “This place isn’t big enough for four people, even if Alya doesn’t hate my guts for stealing her brother’s wife... We can bunk in at my dad’s for a bit until we find something, don’t worry.”

Finding a flat was the least of their worries considering the day they’d just had. And it was a worry that could wait until the morning. Tonight, they were just thankful to still have each other.

Rana couldn’t bear to entertain the alternative.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone knows except Alya...

“Oh my god, what are you doing?”

It took a few sleep-soaked seconds for Rana to figure out where she was. She was lying on a leather sofa, which meant she wasn’t at number 6, and the bright glow from the TV screen meant she and Kate must have fallen asleep watching their movie.

Kate stirred beneath her as Rana shot upright in surprise.

“Alya!”

“What’s happening?” Kate asked groggily, awakened by Rana’s sudden movement. She snaked an arm clumsily around her girlfriend’s waist. "Go back to sleep babe.”

“Babe?”

Alya had walked in to find her housemate and her sister-in-law curled up asleep on the sofa together. It would have been cute, except for the fact that they were wrapped up a little too closely in each other’s arms, and there were hands in places that friends shouldn’t be putting their hands...

“What the hell is going on here Rana?” Alya demanded, her brain struggling to process what she was seeing.

Kate scrabbled upright. “Alya! What are you doing here?”

“Never mind what I’m doing here. I’m the one asking the questions and you two have some explaining to do...”

*****

If there was ever a more awkward moment in her life, Kate couldn’t remember it. She, Rana and Alya were sat around the dining room table staring into their Horlicks, waiting for one of them to break the silence. Rana was crying softly, though whether it was from relief or fear, Kate wasn’t sure.

Eventually, Alya did the honours.

“And Zeedan knows about this?” she asked, dumbfounded.

Rana sniffled. “I um, told him about it a few months ago. But by then Luke had died, and Kate and I decided that we shouldn’t see each other anymore,” Rana explained, looking at Kate for support. “And then Zeedan told my parents.”

This was the tricky bit – how much did Alya need to know about the grubby little deal he’d struck up with her parents? Or the fact that she’s stupidly gone along with it...

Sensing her discomfort, Kate picked up the baton. “They agreed that Rana and Zeedan should stay married, and in exchange, they would help Zee start his business. Only, well...” she said, struggling to say the words while being respectful to Zeedan’s sister, “we were in love, and we couldn’t stay away from each other.”

“But you’re not a lesbian Rana,” Alya said, eyeballing her best friend. ‘You always loved men at uni; if anything, you were a...”

“It’s not about that,” Rana cut in. “I love Kate. And I know I’ve never felt like this about anybody else before, not even Zee.”

Kate couldn’t help but smile, and she squeezed her hand gently in support.

“What about your vows?” Alya demanded. “You only just got married Rana, and you’re telling me you’ve fallen in love with another woman? What about Zee?”

Rana took a deep breath.

“We’re over.”

“So what? Now you’ve shacked up with Kate, and are planning on living happily ever after? Not under my roof!” she raged.

“No. Not under your roof,” Kate agreed. “In the morning I’ll gather my things and we’ll go and stay with my dad until we get sorted. But we’re going to be together Alya, and we’re not going to hide this anymore.”

“How can you humiliate him like this,” Alya pleaded with Rana.

“It’s not about humiliating Zee, Alya. I just can’t live a lie anymore,” Rana said sadly. “I’ve already lost my parents over this. And Zeedan. I don’t want to lose you too, but I can’t go back to how things were. I know you don’t understand, but this is better for both of us in the long run. Zeedan deserves someone who loves him more than anything in the world. And that’s not me.”

Alya slumped back in her seat. Her brain was doing overtime, and she didn’t know how to process this information. But it was already past three in the morning, and she desperately needed sleep.

“I’m going to bed, we can talk about this in the morning.”

Alya dumped her empty mug in the sink.

“I know I don’t have the right to ask anything from you,” Rana said apprehensively, “but if you could keep this to yourself we’d really appreciate it.”

Alya sneered.

“Ashamed are we?”

“No,” Rana said honestly. “But we need to talk to Zee about where we go from here before anyone else finds out. I owe him that.”

Alya shrugged.

 “Whatever. Just, don’t be here when I wake up, okay. I can’t bear to look at you.”

 After Alya left, Rana looked at Kate apprehensively. Where did they go from here?

“Come on, you look exhausted,” Kate said gently. “Let’s go to bed, and we can figure everything else out tomorrow.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cat's out of the bag, and it's screaming...

By the time the morning rolled around, Alya was seething. She’s called her brother before falling asleep, but whether it was the ungodly hour or the fact he couldn’t face her, Zeedan hadn’t answered her calls.

Her gran was also noticeably MIA: the landline rang off and she knew that Yasmeen wasn’t due to start her shift at the cafe until after 11. So where were they?

Avoiding her, she guessed, shooting down another stab of anger.

She just couldn’t get her head around it. Rana and Kate. _Together._ Rana – a lesbian… Or bisexual. Or whatever it was she was refusing to label herself.

And they’d all known about it. Zeedan. Gran. Rana’s parents. And _Luke._

She was furious with Luke most of all – how could he have kept their affair secret from her? And how could she be mad at someone who couldn’t defend themselves?

Alya was awash with emotion. She’s known Rana for years – they’d shared all their secrets. They’d shared everything. How had she not known her best friend fancied women?And how had Rana hidden it from Zeedan?

Questions swirled around her sleep-deprived brain as she made her way across the cobbles to Underworld.

“Ey up cock,” Sean greeted her warmly, walking arm in arm with Fizz through the factory doors. “You look like you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders.’

“It feels like I have,” Alya said, forcing a tight smile.

Sean eyed her in concern and shooed Fizz off to her workstation.

“Is it Luke?” he asked, ignoring the ‘polite’ social boundaries that should have curtailed such abrupt questioning for most people. Sean never cared for such inconvenient conventions, preferring to overshare and overcare wherever he could.

Tears welled in Alya‘s eyes at the mention of his name.“No,” she choked. “Well. Sort of, yeah… I…” she started, momentarily forgetting herself.

Sean waited patiently, his face fixed with a patient grimace.

Before Alya could spill further, Aidan’s voice cut across the factory floor from his office.

“Alya! A quick word?” She nodded, taking a moment to compose herself. “I’ll be fine, thanks,” she said to Sean, squeezing his arm affectionately.

She’d barely had a chance to shut the door before her Aidan bombarded her with questions about the new order they were working on. Alya had spent all day organising the paperwork and ordering the right fabrics, working late into the evening – so late, she had’t thought anyone would still be awake when she’d crept in at midnight to find Kate and Rana curled up in each other's arms.

Her temper flared at the memory.

“The order is all taken care of,’ she barked. ‘I left all of the paperwork on your desk this morning, and if you’d looked for it properly you would have seen it all there, with a post-it note on where you need to sign it.”  
  
Aidan looked startled.

“I know that Alya, I just wanted to say –”

‘Say what?’ she shot back, her voice shrill. Poor Aidan, it wasn’t really his fault but he was getting the brunt of her anger towards his wife-stealing, good-for-nothing sister….

On the factory floor, Beth and co put down their knickers, eager to overhear the heated exchange going on behind the office's closed door.

Aidan threw his arms up in mock surrender. “Okay Alya, I give up. What’s going on?”

“You mean you haven’t heard?’ Alya scoffed. ‘I thought _I_ was the last to know?”

Aidan looked at her, confused.

“Sorry Alya, but I don’t know what you’re talking about… Care to enlighten me?”

Alya crossed her arms and pouted.

“Your sister. My sister-in-law? Ringing a bell?” she said, watching Aidan’s face sink as his brain caught up with his facial expression.

“Rana.”  
  
_“Rana.”_

"How long have you known the pair of them have been at it?" she asked

Aidan guffawed, trying to work his way out of the awkward conversation. "Well, I mean. Kate told me about them after Luke's funeral – but she said it was over. And then..."

"And then what?"

"She mentioned they were back together a few weeks ago. They were trying to keep it quiet, and it wasn't my place to say anything." He shook his head apologetically. "She's my little sister, what else could I do?"

"So you knew. _Luke_ knew. Even _Gran_ knew. Why am I the last to know," Alya exclaimed angrily. "You must all think I'm an idiot."

On the other side of the door, Beth was straining to hear what was being said.

“Something about Rana?’ she relayed to the factory floor, her eyebrows knitted in concentration. ‘Kate and Rana…”

Sean’s eyebrows shot up.

‘You mean, _Kate and Rana_ , Kate and Rana?!’  
  
Beth shushed him with a wave of a hand, ‘Shurrup will you, I can’t hear what they’re sayi–” she said, lurching forward as the door flung open, sending her sprawling across the floor.

‘Have a good earwig, did you?” Alya raged at the woman. “Get back to work. That goes for all of you. _NOW.”_

A dozen pairs of eyes dropped guiltily to their machines as Alya stormed out of the factory to find her brother, leaving her colleagues wondering about what had sent her into such a tizz...

*****

“You’ve got some explaining to do,” Alya raged.

Zeedan scowled as he scribbled his signature on an order for the builders, ignoring his sister. “Thanks mate, if you can get that sorted as a priority I’d really appreciate it – we’re still pushing to open at the end of the month.”

“No worries mate,” the crewman said, wandering off with a curious glance at the enraged woman.  
  
“Do we have to do this here?” Zeedan sighed, turning his attention to his sister.

“I gave you the chance to do this at home, but you didn't answer my calls. And you’ve got Gran avoiding me too… I deserve to know what’s going on Zee!”

Zee pursed his lips, about to say something to the contrary before deciding against it.  
  
“Okay. The truth? Rana had an affair with Kate. She told me about it after Luke’s funeral, and – obviously – they’re still seeing each other. That’s why Kate broke up with Sophie, and that’s why her parents tried to pack her off to Pakistan,” Zeedan said, omitting his role in the stunt.

“And you’re okay with them seeing each other?”

“Well… It’s not like I’ve got much choice in the matter, is it?”

“Why is she still living with you and Gran if she’s with Kate?” Alya asked, sensing there was more to the set-up than Zeedan was letting on. “And Rana said you told her parents? What aren’t you telling me?”

Zee flushed. “Look, I’m not the bad guy here okay so stop talking to me like I am.”

Alya softened.

“If anyone is the bad guy in this situation, it’s Kate. Rana was perfectly happy until she started putting ideas in her head.”

Zeedan shrugged, sensing an opening. “Yeah, well. Rana’s mum and dad wanted us to stay together to protect her family’s honour. So they invested in my business and we agreed we’d make a go of our marriage.”

“But how could you if she’s still seeing Kate? This doesn’t make any sense.”

“Rana and I agreed it was a financial arrangement. And when Kate got wind of it, well…”

“Oh Zeedan,” Alya said sadly, pulling her brother into a hug. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been going through, I know how much you love Rana. Why on earth didn’t you tell me what’s been going on?"  
  
“You were so upset after Luke died, I didn’t want to burden you with this as well,” he said truthfully. “And I guess… part of me thought that if I didn’t tell anyone about it then it wasn’t really happening.”

“And now they’re together, official like?”

“Yeah. Rana’s parents tried to send her away to Pakistan when they found out she was still seeing Kate – I guess they snapped. One way ticket, the whole deal. They’ve disowned her.”

Alya shook her head sadly. “I’m not surprised. They were always super conservative – Rana couldn’t even wear a low-cut top without them going mad at her when we were at Uni, I bet her shacking up with a woman blew their minds."  
  
“Something like that,” Zee said non-committally.

“Is she okay?” Alya said, a trace of concern seeping into her voice. 

“She’s safe. But I think it really frightened her,” Zee admitted. “No matter what she’s done to me, she’s still my wife and I don’t want anything bad to happen to her. Her parents have lost their minds.”

“Come here you,” Alya said, hugging Zeedan closer. “You’ve got such a big heart. She really she doesn’t deserve you.”

“No. But the crazy thing is… I still love her,” Zeedan confessed, his voice cracking with emotion. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone that took the time to comment on this story, it's been really lovely reading your replies! I only just discovered how the 'inbox' function works, so forgive my lack of replies! I'm clearly not down with technology...
> 
> As 'the big reveal' is happening in the UK today, I wanted to get Alya's reaction out of the way. I've also revised my 12-part time line a bit as I want to delve into some of the other, slightly longer reaching storylines that are playing out at the moment and overlap with the two character. So if you're enjoying, stick with it, if you're not, jump off in a few weeks when I reach my original conclusion!


	8. Chapter 8

Rana would have been lying if she said there wasn’t a small bubble of excitement mixed in with the nausea growling in her stomach as she and Kate walked into The Rovers, hand in hand.

“What can I get you both?” Toyah asked, seemingly oblivious to the monumental hurdle the couple just climbed by crossing the threshold to the pub. It had been a jumpy few weeks since the ordeal with Rana’s parents, and they had decided to quietly, but defiantly announce publicly their relationship through the simple gesture.

“Two glasses of red please.”

“I’ll bring them over.”

Sliding into the empty booth, the couple eyed the room nervously. Toyah might have been oblivious to their gesture, but the rest of the street’s residents were not, including Leanne and Peter.

Meeting their curious glances and open stares, Kate put an arm protectively around Rana’s shoulder and whispered words of reassurance into her ear.

Kate had always found her neighbours displayed a shocking lack of interest in her love life, and between her, Sean, Sophie, Todd and Billy, Coronation Street was a pretty gay postcode. Most of her neighbours were respectful – even if some of them did read the Daily Mail – and though she expected their new relationship to ruffle some feathers, she wasn’t expecting fireworks.

At least, she wasn’t until Rosie Webster stormed over to their table.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, eyeballing Kate.

“Having a quiet drink with Rana. Why, what’s it to you?”

“For one, it’s only two minutes since you dumped my sister, and you're moving on to someone else. And two, she’s married... to a man,” she said, jabbing a thumb in Rana's direction.

“Zeedan and Rana aren’t together anymore,” Kate said, loud enough so Norris and the pub’s other earwiggers could hear. “And Sophie and I broke up, meaning I can be with whoever I want to be. Now, if you don’t mind...”

“Your drinks,” Toyah interrupted, stealing a worried glance at them. “I don’t want any trouble ladies...”

Rana’s cheeks were burning as she fought the urge to get up and run off. She wasn’t ready for this after all; it was too soon, too public.

Kate placed a gentle hand on her arm.

“Look at me, Rana. It’s ok,” she said quietly, looking deep into her eyes and willing her to stay.

For a second, it was almost as if she’d forgotten Rosie was there as Kate willed Rana to be brave.

“Er, it’s not okay! How long has this been going on?” the blonde screeched. “Were you shacking up with that slapper while you were seeing my sister?”

If they weren’t the star attraction at the zoo before, they were now. All eyes were on them, and Rana could feel herself sinking into her seat, tears threatening to tumble from her eyes in shame.

“Don’t you dare call her that!” Kate growled, rising to her feet.

“Why? If the cap fits, wear it,” Rosie said, tossing a glass of wine over Rana.

“You little..” Kate was about to grab the blonde when she felt a burly pair of arms hug her from behind.

“Steady on, eh sis?” Aidan soothed, holding her in a bear hug. A mortified Tim and Sophie appeared on either side of Rosie.

“Let me go!” Kate cried.

“Yeah, let her go,” Rosie yelled at Aidan. “There’s another one of them with her name on it!” Rosie flapped, trying to prise her arms free from her sister and step-father so she could fling the second glass of wine over Kate.

“Rana I am so sorry!” Sophie apologised.

“Don’t apologise to her!” Rosie raged. “Kate was seeing her the whole time you two were together!”

“Actually,” Rana said, finding her voice and rising to her feet, “that’s not true. Kate and I weren’t together when she was with Sophie. And Kate is right: Zee and I have ended our marriage so that the pair of us can be together. If he can accept it,” she said glancing around the room, “then you all can. He’s a good man.”

“A better man than me, that’s for certain,” Norris said under his breath, before swallowing a mouthful of ale.

There was a quiet murmur in the bar, and several sets of eyes looked away. Kevin Webster made his way around the bar shaking his head.

“That’s enough now Rosie,” he told his daughter sternly. She might not have been a kid anymore, but parental authority counted for something. “I think you ought to go home,” he said as he and Tim escorted her to the door. As the blonde disappeared outside, the pub’s inhabitants returned to their conversations and Kate turned her attention back to her wine-soaked girlfriend.

“Are you okay?” Kate asked with concern.

“Well, this top’s a right-off, but I think I’ll live,” Rana chuckled, flashing a brief but shy smile.

Kate laughed. “I love you.”

“I know. Now, go and get me another drink will you.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life goes on.

Kate woke to the sound of Jenny’s vacuum cleaner banging against the bottom of the bedroom door.

“Uff,” she grumbled, rolling over to snake and arm around her girlfriend's side. “We have got to find somewhere to live babe, Jenny’s doing my nut in.” She glanced at the clock on the bedside table. “Who in their right minds starts cleaning at 7.30 on a Saturday morning.”

“Mmmmhhhhfff,” Rana mumbled, burrowing her face into the pillow. “7.30? We only got to bed four hours ago,” she complained grumpily.

“Yeah well, I think maybe Jenny is making a point.”

It had been three weeks since Kate had moved into her dad and Jenny’s flat. Three weeks since Rana’s parents had tried to send her on a one-way-ticket to Pakistan. And three weeks since Alya had last spoken to either of them.

Kate had returned from her shift at the Bistro to find all of her belongings packed into cardboard boxes, and her clothes stuffed in a suitcase. Well, not stuffed exactly – Alya had asked Craig to do the honours, and he was nothing if not fastidious about his folding, even down to her underwear.

But that was the last time she’d stepped foot inside her former home, and her step-mother was growing impatient about the additional clutter in the otherwise meticulous apartment.

“We’ve got that viewing at 3 – so long as it doesn’t have rats or cockroaches, I suggest we take it,” Rana said grumpily. “I’ve hardly seen you with your new work shifts, and I think it’s freaking the neighbours out that I’m still living with my estranged husband and grandmother-in-law.”

Kate and Rana had gone out with Sophie and Rosie for quiet drink in an attempt to alleviate the tension, and a ‘couple’ had turned into an action-packed night on Canal Street.

It had been fun (eventually) but Rana had sunk more than her fair share of tequila shots in an effort to relax around her girlfriend’s ex and her surprisingly scary older sister… And if she was being honest, she’d needed a few rounds to feel comfortable in her own skin.

It had been different when she’d been out clubbing with Kate before; back then, they weren’t together so she hadn’t had to figure out her comfort level for PDAs. But after five drinks, Kate had abandoned their plan to maintain a respectful distance in front of Sophie, and had snogged her on the dance floor, giving everyone – including a couple of girls who’d had their eyes on Kate and her pleather trousers from the second they’d stepped into the club – an eyeful.

Not that she’d complained at the time. But she felt guilty almost immediately afterward when she’d spied Sophie’s discomfort, not to mention the wolf-whistles that had ripped across the dance floor and sent her into a stream of blushes.

“Yeah well, being homeless would be better than that other dump we looked at. I can’t believe how hard it is to find a flat around here. Makes me almost wish Pat Phelan was still my landlord.”  
  
“Kate!” Rana said, slapping her on the arm. “I said almost.”

“You shouldn’t joke about that, not after what he did to poor Luke,” Rana chastised her, flopping a hand over her eyes against the sunlight creeping under the bottom of the curtains.

“Yeah well, if I have to stay here for much longer, I’m going to end up killing someone,” Kate said grumpily. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and felt her stomach roll with the movement. “I feel like death,” she said hoarsely, her long hair fanning around her naked shoulders like a curtain.

Clothes were unceremoniously scattered across the bedroom floor, and she realised was stark naked. Not that she was bothered about that. But she’d have to clean up before Jenny went spare at the sight of her guest room.

“Yeah, well, I lost count of the shots you and Sophie sank – honestly babe, I have no idea where you put it.”

“You can talk, I seem to vaguely remember you downing a line of them yourself and then asking me to ‘spin you around’ to a Kylie track,” Kate grumbled.

“Er, I think you’ll find it was you who asked me to do that, and when I said no you got Rosie to do the honours. And then there’s the girl that wrote her phone number on arm after you let her buy you a drink.”

“Did not.”  
  
“Did too!” Rana exclaimed, lifting Kate’s bare arm as proof.

“Oh. Well. Maybe she did, but I don’t remember – and I certainly wasn’t interested.”

“Never said you were interested in her,” Rana said, flopping onto her side and gathering the sheets around her naked torso. She leaned over and planted a kiss on Kate’s bare bottom. “You were too interested in me.”

The vacuum clicked off in the hallway, and a few seconds later, Kate swore she could hear the frantic sound of Jenny power-dusting the sideboard.

“Right you, time to get up. I said we’d meet Aidan for breakfast at 9, and I know what you’re like doing your hair so you probably want to start now…”

“Oi!” Rana said, slapping her playfully. “Cheeky mare – you’re the one who spends 20 minutes flexing her arms in the mirror every morning.”  
  
“Yeah, but that’s for your benefit too!”

“And my hair isn’t?”

“Well, so long as it’s not for Aidan’s, I don’t mind,” Kate giggled.

Rana looked pensive for a few seconds. “Do you think he’s okay? Aidan, I mean.”

“Why’d you say that?” Kate said running a brush through her mane in front of the mirror.

“It’s just… he seems a bit all over the place at the minute.”

“He’s been through a lot recently,” Kate said defensively. “There’s the whole wedding fiasco and almost bankrupting the factory, and then there’s the kidney and Carla giving him 100% ownership of Underworld. It’s a lot of pressure. I think I’d be all over the place too.”

“I’m not having a go,” Rana said, hopping out of bed. “I just mean that he seems a bit down. Quiet even. I’m worried about him is all.”

Kate shrugged it off. “He’s fine. Besides, he’d tell me if he wasn’t.”

Rana smiled thinly. Sometimes Kate’s stubborn ability to bury her head in the sand astounded her – but Aidan was her brother and she clearly wasn’t in the mood to discuss it further. Pick your battles, she told herself.

“Right, well… Last one in the shower is buying brekkie!” she said, bolting for the door. 

***************

“You look dog tired!” Kate said, plonking herself down into the chair opposite her brother.

“Thanks a lot,” Aidan huffed, taking a slurp of milky coffee. “You’re looking a bit bleary-eyed yourself sis, late night was it?” he joked.

“It was as it happens,” Kate said, sharing a quiet smile with Rana. “We went out dancing in the village with Sophie and Rosie, and this one here was batting them off with a barge pole!” she said, patting her girlfriend’s arm fondly.

“Er, not true. Kate was too drunk to remember what I got up to, but I assure you it was her battin’ them off,” she grinned at Aidan, pointing to the smudged digits Kate had failed to successfully scrub off in the shower.

“Oi oi!” He laughed.

“How has your week been? I’ve barely seen you around,” Kate said, launching swiftly into interrogation mode.

“I’ve just been working. We’ve got a new order coming in on Monday and we’re already behind on the last one,” he said quickly, changing the subject. “How’s flat hunting?”

“Uff… Not good. It’s impossible to find anything decent around here on our budget,” Kate complained.

“Well maybe if you didn’t spend all your money on jaeger bombs you might have a better chance of finding something…”

“Hey! I’m still just about on the right side of 30, so let me enjoy the fading twilight of my youth will you?”

“That’s true enough. You’re already starting to look a bit wrinkly sis,” he said, reaching over to pinch her cheek.

Rana laughed at the pair, enjoying seeing Kate with her brother. The two of them were so close, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was up with Aidan – more than he was letting on.

“What else is new Aidan? Sophie mentioned the pair of you had been spending a bit of time together recently.”

He looked blank for a moment. “Yeah, we’ve been for a drink. She’s been a bit down, so…”

“Because of me?” Kate huffed, reading between the lines.

“I’m not saying that… it’s just, well, you could have told her sooner,” Aidan reasoned.

“So you’re taking her side in this. Sorry if telling Sophie Webster wasn’t top of my list of things to do after my girlfriend was almost abducted to another country.“  
  
Rana eyeballed the table, ashamed to be caught in the cross-fire.

“Look, I know you both had other things on your mind sis, but all I’m saying is that it had to hurt, finding out like that.” Aidan smiled fondly at Rana. “But I’m glad it all worked out okay, and I’m relieved you’re both safe,” he said, squeezing both of their hands.

“Yeah, well. Sophie seemed okay about it last night,” Kate breezed.

“Did you speak to the police Rana, about your parents?”

Rana looked away, wanting to disappear. Aidan, Johnny, Zee, Kate: they’d all brought it up, keen for her to press charges against her mum and dad for what they’d tried to do to her. And while part of her wanted to – to punish them for their incomprehensible cruelty – she knew that doing so would extinguish any hope of them ever repairing their relationship. And that was a flame she couldn’t bare to snuff out.

“We’re not going to the police,” Kate replied, sensing her soreness. “It’s done with now.”

“I know they’re still your parents Rana, but I need to know the pair of you are safe. I spoke to Zeedan.What if they do something to Kate next time? What if they try something like this again? Who’s going to stop them?”

“They won’t,” Rana said definitively. “And I wouldn’t fall for it again, I’m not stupid.”  
  
Kate put an arm protectively around her. “No one thinks you’re stupid babe, but no one thought they’d ever be capable of doing something like that. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost you.”

Aidan watched them quietly from across the table, his eyes glazing over for a moment as he slipped into thought.

************

“Did Aidan seem okay to you?” Kate asked Rana as they walked arm in arm across the street.

“In what way?”

“I dunno… He just seemed quiet, like something was on his mind?”

“Why don’t you talk to him about it?” Rana suggested. “Invite him around to the flat tonight. Jenny and Johnny are out, it’ll give you a chance to catch up – just the two of you.”  
  
“But we were meant to have our date night tonight,” Kate grumbled.

“And we can have a date night tomorrow instead, it'll give me something to look forward to while I'm at work. Honestly, I don’t mind rescheduling. I’m sure Zee could use some extra help at the restaurant tonight.”

Kate looked unconvinced, a pang of jealousy pricking at the mention of her girlfriend's husband’s name.

She wasn’t happy Rana was so involved at Speed Daal and was still living at the Nazirs. It muddied the waters too much: how could they move on if they were still so entangled in each others’ lives? And Kate wasn’t stupid, she saw how Zeedan looked at Rana. Like he was still head over heels in love with her. And like the second she messed up, he’d be there to offer Rana a shoulder to cry on…or something else.

Kate pushed the thought from her head. She had to get a grip on her jealousy.

“Oh go on,” Rana coaxed her. ‘How about a comprise? We have a few hours free before the viewing this afternoon, and you’re not working, so why don’t we go and find something to do to fill the time…” she said, tracing a finger down Kate’s arm.

Kate eyed her lips hungrily. “Well that does sound more like it. Okay woman, get me home!” 

************

Zeedan watched Kate and Rana’s exchange from across the street, transfixed by their body language. It wasn’t as though they were even doing anything really, not even holding hands. But there was something…

He could slap himself for all the signs he’d missed. It was so obvious now, looking back. The sulky looks, the fights – the constant tension.

Zeedan watched them giggling and smiling. They seemed a million miles from that now, but there was still an energy about them.

Had Rana ever been like that with him? He could barely remember. The woman that breezed into his life those few years ago seemed a million miles from the Rana he knew today – it was hard to reconcile the two. And yet…

He thought about heading in the opposite direction, keen to avoid bumping into the pair of them, but Rana spotted him before he had a chance to turn on his heels.

“Hiya,” Rana shouted across the street.

“Aright,” he said gruffly, squinting his eyes against the sun – and at Kate, who seemed to instinctively pull Rana in closer to her as soon as she saw him.

He scowled.

“How’s it going? I was just wondering if you needed an extra pair of hands in the restaurant tonight.”

Surprised, Zee lit up. “Yeah, actually, we could. Would you mind doing front of house?”

“No problem,” Rana flashed him a toothy grin. “What time do you want me?”

“Er, if you can start around 5, I can run you through the bookings for the night. We’ve got a big table of 12 booked in for 8, and we’ll need all the help we can get. We’ve barely been open a week and I’ve already got staff callin’ in sick."

“Great, that’s settled then. You go have dinner with your brother, and I’ll play hostess,” Rana smiled at Kate, squeezing her hands affectionately.

Kate just about managed to squeeze out a tense smile back. "Great."

******

“Have you heard from Aidan?” Kate rushed, barely waiting for Johnny to say hello as he walked out of The Kabin clutching his newspaper and a copy of Interiors Today for Jenny.

“No, why?”

“I wanted to invite him over for dinner tonight, while you and Jenny are out, but he’s not picking up the phone.”

“He’s probably busy love,” Johnny said matter of factly. “Why are you so desperate to see him, anyway?”

“I just… I thought some brother-sister bonding time might be in order. Since the whole thing with Rana’s parents, I’ve been neglecting him a bit.”

Johnny smiled fondly at his daughter. “I’m sure Aidan understands what it’s like to be in love, and he won’t begrudge you two some alone time – especially not after everything Rana’s been through. Don’t worry. I’ll find him.”

*****

The pots and pans were mounting up in the kitchen of Speed Daal, and Rana had swapped front of house duties for a pair of pink marigolds and a tea towel.

“The first thing you need to do when the money starts rolling in is buy a new dishwasher,” Rana said lightly, flicking Zeedan with the wet end of her towel. “I signed up for glamour, not grease!”

“What are you talking about? You still look glamorous is those rubber gloves!” Zeedan laughed, grabbing the towel from her hand and winding it up as though he was about to whip her.

“DON”T YOU DARE,” Rana warned him, fighting a smile. She grabbed the soapy washing-up brush from the sink and held it in front of her for protection, dripping water on the floor.

“Or what?!”

“I mean it Zee,” Rana laughed. “Don’t you dare or you’ll be wearing suds for weeks!”

Zee darted towards her, grabbing her around the middle as he tried to wrestle the brush out of her hands.

For being so slight, Rana could put up a fight, and he blinked soapy bubbles out of his eyes as the pair of them burst into a fit of giggles – just as the doors to the kitchen swung open, revealing a very surprised Kate.

"What's going on?" Kate asked, shocked.

“Nothing!” Rana shouted, pushing herself free from Zee’s arms.

“We were just messing on,” Zee said gruffly, not really caring how it looked.

Two seconds earlier he and Rana had been laughing on, having fun. It’d felt like old times. And now, here he was meant to feel like he was doing something wrong for touching his wife? Nah. He didn’t think so. “I’ll leave you two to it, shall I?” he said sulkily, brushing past Kate.

Rana looked guiltily at the floor as she waited for the kitchen doors to swing shut behind him.

A second passed, her blood racing in her temples. She knew what it looked like, and if she’s caught Kate acting like that with Sophie or someone else then she’d be thinking exactly the same thing but…

“It’s not like you think,” Rana rushed. “We were just having a laugh. Honestly.”

“Rana, the pair of you looked really cosy!”

“But it was just –”

“Just what?” Kate demanded angrily. “Rana, you know how Zeedan feels about you. You can’t act like you’re still together anymore, because it’s not fair on him – and it’s not fair on me either.”

“I know that,” Rana said, averting her eyes. “I just – it wasn’t…” She stopped herself. “I’m sorry.”

“I know you weren’t,” Kate said, softening. “But does Zeedan know that? That’s the problem Rana. I trust you, but I’m telling you, Zeedan is still in love with you. You can’t give him false hope.”

“I know.”

“Right then," Kate said. "Pass me the tea towel and let’s finish these pots shall we?”

Rana looked at her in surprise. “Seriously? I mean, shouldn’t you and Aidan be tucking into dessert right now?”

“He was busy,” Kate shrugged. “Said he couldn’t make it for dinner. Don’t worry, we’ll just do it next weekend instead. Now – you wash, I’ll dry.”

"Thank you," Rana said, hanging her the cloth. Thank you for not flying off the handle; thank you for not thinking the worst of her; thank you, thank you, she thought.

"You're welcome. Now, scrub harder, there's still muck on this one!" she smiled.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning ahead of the next part, which will deal with the topic of suicide. I've been putting off writing it because it's sad and I was *hoping* I was wrong about the direction that they've been subtly heading with Aidan's character on the show, so apologies on the slow update as of late. 
> 
> I also skipped past Rana and Kate fighting about calling the police. You'll see why in a few chapters time.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rana received some shocking news at work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: this chapter discusses the topic of suicide and explores reactions to it from a number of character perspectives (some canon, some not.)

Rana was showing a patient out of the clinic room when her phone lit up with Kate’s name.

She smiled involuntarily as she pressed the phone to her ear, clicking the examination door shut behind her.

“Hiya! You okay?”

“I’ve been ringing you, where’ve you been?” Kate said angrily, catching Rana off guard.

“Sorry, I’m in the clinic. I’ve only just picked up my phone now, it’s been dead busy. Are you alright?” she asked, concerned.

Rana wracked her brain, trying to figure out what she’d done to irritate her girlfriend. Was it because she hadn’t seen her the night before?

By the time Rana finished work and gotten ready to go out, Kate had already gone home, put to bed by Michelle after consuming more than her fair of the free bar Johnny and Jenny had put on at the pub. The brunette was at work now, doing a double shift with what Rana imagined was the hangover from hell… Or maybe she was still drunk. And weirdly angry.

Maybe she’d had another run-in with Zeedan?

“Not really,” Kate replied, pausing for a moment to steel herself.

Rana could swear her swallowing on the other side of the line, her voice thick with tears.

“Um. It’s Aidan, he’s um. He’s killed himself.”

Rana’s heart lurched instantly.

Surely she’d heard wrong.

“What?”

“He’s dead. He killed himself, last night. After the party,” Kate said bluntly, her voice ragged.

“Oh my god Kate, I’m so sorry. Where are you? I’m coming to you now,” Rana said, grabbing her jacket off the coat stand in the corner of the room.

“No. Don’t.” Kate gulped. “I’m at Aidan’s place. I don’t want you to come over here, I just… I wanted you to know.”

There was silence as Rana processed the news.

“I’ve been ringing you,” Kate repeated flatly.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t answer Kate, I was with a patient. I didn't know.”

Kate nodded, forgetting for a moment that Rana couldn’t see her. It was hard to speak, hard to put her thoughts in order. Everything felt so heavy.

“They just took him away, so we’re leaving soon. I er, I can’t see you yet. I just – sorry, I just need to be here with Dad and Carla. Later, okay? I’ll text you later.”

“Okay,” Rana said hesitantly. What was she meant to say? _No?_

If Kate wanted to be alone with her family, Rana understood. But she a rush of anxiety at not being able to help or do something that would make her feel better. Her mind reeled.

Aidan was _dead?_ But he’d seemed fine when they’d seem him at the weekend. He’d blown Kate off for dinner, sure, but they were planning on doing something on Friday night instead.

And the party.

It made no sense.

“Kate,” Rana said firmly. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Kate choked out.

“I’m going to finish work now, so if you change your mind and you want me to come over, I can, okay? Anything you need from me. I’m here. I love you,” she repeated.

“I just need to be with my dad for a bit. I’ll see you later, I promise.”

******************

Whether she was acting on autopilot, or some weird desire for familiarity, Kate found herself standing at the front door to her flat, twisting her key into the lock.

It’d been weeks since she’d last been there, driven out by Alya after she’d discovered the truth about her relationship with Rana. But it was the first place she found herself, after leaving her Dad and Jenny’s flat, desperate to escape the feeling of claustrophobia that was strangling her.

Kate picked up the small stack of envelopes with her name on them from the bottom step and trudged up towards the flat.

The kitchen blind was pulled down, and there was no sound coming from inside. Kate let herself inside and stood looking blankly around her former home. It looked exactly the same as it had when she’d left those weeks before, but there was a gap on the wall where there’d been a picture of her, Luke and Alya, and space on the shelf where Kate’s _Friends_ DVDs used to sit.

But her favourite cup was still hanging on the mug tree on the kitchen counter.

Kate filled the kettle in the sink and flipped the switch.

Craig had moved the tea bags from their usual spot: now all the boxes were arranged in order of size, from large to small. For a moment, she thought they’d chucked her favourites out when she couldn’t see them and she felt an irrational stab of anger. But it subsided instantly when she spied them, decanted into a small glass jar with a scrap of label tucked inside.

“I’ll have one of them n’all,” Alya said gently, pulling Kate from her thoughts.

“Sorry,” Kate said, spinning on her heels. “I didn’t think you were home.”

“The factory is shut, so I – well, I had nowhere else to be,” Alya said, closing the distance between the two women. Alya’s eyes were red-rimmed from crying, but they were dry. She was wearing an oversized men’s jumper– Luke’s? – over a pair of flannel pyjama bottoms, but she didn’t look like she’d been sleeping.

Alya pulled Kate into a sharp hug.

They stood awkwardly for a second, staring blankly over each others’ shoulders.

“I’m so sorry,” Alya said. “I can’t –“

“Thanks,” Kate said, cutting her off quickly. She couldn’t deal with peoples’ niceties. Especially not when she felt so angry: she didn’t want sympathy. And Aidan didn’t deserve it: he’d left her…

She tensed, rage bubbling beneath her skin.

Sensing Kate’s shifting mood, Alya dropped her arms and took a step back.

The kettle clicked, breaking the moment, and Kate snatched it up to tip boiling water into the cups.

“The place looks nice and tidy,” she said, changing the conversation.

“That’s what happens when you move out,” Alya said, half-jokingly.

“I haven’t moved out, not officially” Kate bit back. “In fact, I was wondering if I could move back in.”

Alya balked. “Don’t you want to be around your Dad and Jenny?”

“Not particularly,” Kate replied, draining the teabag into the sink. “If I stay there I think I’ll go crazy. It’s only been a few hours and already the thought of staring at my dad’s face makes me want to kill Aidan myself.”

“Kate!” Alya said, shocked.

“What? The most selfish man on the planet just topped himself, you should see what it’s done to my dad. I’ll never forgive our Aidan for this.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I do. That’s what’s so scary,” Kate said, slopping milk into the mugs.

“Aidan wasn’t like that though – he wasn’t selfish.”

“Seems pretty selfish to me, checking out, leaving everyone else to pick up the pieces. Leaving everyone to deal with the mess he’s caused. You should see his flat. He never even bothered to unpack his stuff after Carla got it back for him.”

Kate’s voice hitched.

“And I didn’t even notice. He was living out of black bags and boxes for months and I didn't notice.”

She took a deep breath as Alya moved towards her. Anticipating another hug, she took a step back, hitting her hip sharply against the kitchen counter.

“Guess he wasn’t the only selfish one eh? Looks like it runs in the family.”

“Kate, that’s not true.”

They sipped silently from their mugs.

“I didn’t notice anything either, and I spent every day working beside him. Talking about the new sports line. He seemed so excited about the future – I had no idea he felt suicidal, and I was his friend,” Alya said.

“Yeah, well. He didn’t want anyone to know, did he? Thought it was better to be dead than share his problems, stupid pillock.”

“I reckon a lot of people are like that,” Alya said, prickling as she thoughts about her brother. For months he’d kept his problems secret from her, masquerading as a happily married man while his heart was breaking and he was drowning in his own sadness.

A spark of anger flared as she glanced at Kate, but she dampened it down. Bigger picture, she reminded herself.

Zeedan was alive, Aidan was not. She made a mental note to call her brother and tell him how much she loved him. The wall buzzer sounded, jolting them both from their thoughts.

“Who is it?” Alya said into the handset.

“Rana.”

Alya’s jaw fixed as her eyes flickered to Kate. She pushed her thumb into the button, releasing the door. “I’ll leave you to it,” she said hastily, dumping her mug in the sink and rushing to her room.

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aidan's funeral comes and goes, but are the Connors falling apart?

Rana stacked the soap suds-covered plates in the drying rack as quietly as she could, trying not to wake Kate. It was 1.30 in the morning, and she’d finally fallen asleep on the sofa, exhausted from the emotions of the day – and the bottle of Irish whiskey she’d single-handedly put away.

What a day.

Aidan’s funeral had been followed by the most depressing wake that Rana has ever been to. It had been 3 weeks since Aidan had taken his life, and it seemed the world continued to turn for everybody but the Connor clan.

Their grief bubbled beneath the surface, hot and fiery and full of anger. Especially Johnny’s. His sadness had quickly turned to something more nasty, sniping first at Jenny, and then at Kate too.

It was Jenny’s fault for not making Aidan feel welcome. For distracting him with their silly plans for Spain. Kate’s for not spending more time with her brother, and for turning her back on him after the factory’s machines were stolen.

Only Carla was saved from his anger: she’d given Aidan something to live for when she’d needed a kidney, buying them more time with his son.

But in Johnny’s mind, it was ultimately his fault for not asking Aidan if he was _okay._  
  
He’d read the signs that something was wrong; he’d noticed Aidan had the weight of the world on his shoulders. And yet…

Johnny existed from one day to the next, nursing his grief at the bottom of a beer glass – a trait that apparently ran in the Connor family.

If she wasn’t drunk, Kate was in the process of getting drunk, and Rana’s patient understanding was quickly turning to anxious concern. It was the third night in a row she’d put Kate to bed with a sick bowl, and it felt like Carla and Michelle had her number on speed dial, unsure how to deal with their wayward, deeply depressed younger ward.

Rana wasn’t sure what to do with Kate herself.

She’d tried to talk to her girlfriend about her grief and her heavy drinking, but it ended in a row or fell on deaf ears. Rana had tried tipping out every half-drunk bottle of spirit she found in the house, but Kate just bought more.

Now Kate was out cold, drunk and snoring in front of the muted television, but Rana dared to hope that the funeral had brought a sense of closure that Aidan’s suicide note had not.

Kate had been stoic as the coffin was brought into the church, and had barely shed a tear during the service, but as they closed the door to their flat, she had crumpled into Rana’s arms, sobbing for the first time since she’d received that fateful news.

Rana had held her, shaking and crying – how her heart broke for her beautiful, sweet Kate – as she poured her emotions out. Her sadness. Her anger – “Why would he do that? Did he not know how much he was loved?” – and her loneliness.

_Her loneliness._

That had made Rana’s breath catch in her chest.

“You’re not alone Kate, I’m here with you every step of the way. I love you so much,” she’d reassured her.

Kate had managed a watery smile. And reached for a bottle of pinot grigio.

With the dishes done, Rana sat down on the floor next to Kate and set about straightening the stack of magazines on the coffee table. She needed to keep her hands busy, to stop the subconscious urge to touch Kate’s face, or hair, or arms – to reassure herself that Kate was here, and she was ok.

Rana wasn’t sure she was okay – or would be ever again.

 

************

“All I’m saying is, it might be worth changing your number,” Imran said around a mouthful of black tea.

Rana’s Samsung burst into life, vibrating its way across the table for the fifth time in succession, her eyebrows rocketing in surprise.

“I don’t want to do that,” Rana hissed lowly under her breath. “What if Mum and Dad change their mind? They need to know how to reach me” she said anxiously, hitting the end call button and blocking the unknown number.

In the weeks since the kidnap attempt, and Aidan’s death, Rana had found herself missing her parents desperately, and had fought the urge to call them at her brother’s behest. For the last week, she’d also been inundated with silent phone calls at all hours of the day and night, sometimes up to 20 a day.

She didn’t dare tell Kate – she had enough on her plate right now without Rana unloading her problems onto her too.

And as she’d said to her brother, it wasn’t such a big a deal, was it? Whoever it was would probably get bored and stop soon enough…

“If you won’t change your number, you should at least tell the police. It’s not a coincidence you’re getting dozens of anonymous phone calls days after your deeply conservative relatives find out you’ve left your husband for your lesbian lover,” he said sardonically.

Rana huffed, putting on a show of annoyance to disguise the swell of fear that bit the back of her throat.

If she was being honest, she was scared about what might happen now that news about her and Kate was circulating among the community, and more importantly, among her relatives. But she didn’t want her brother to know that any more than Kate.

She and Imran were on the shallow side of the family: their mother and father had six siblings each, and their aunts and uncles all had at least three children of their own. That made for dozens of cousins in the UK and abroad, some of whom were incredibly traditional (and homophobic) in their belief systems.

Several of her cousins lived within a few miles of Weatherfield, and more were in Salford, Manchester, Liverpool, and Preston…

“I can’t tell the police, can I? I don’t want to get mum into trouble. And I’m sure that it’ll die down in a bit.”

Imran’s eyes bugged as the bell above Roy’s door tinkled and Kate walked in.

“Kate!” Imran boomed! “We were just talking about you!”

“All good things, I hope,” Kate said, plonking herself down into an empty chair and leaning in to plant a clumsy kiss on Rana’s cheek. “Didn’t hear you get up this morning, I must have been dead to the world!”

Rana implored Imran with her eyes to drop the conversation.

“Yeah! You were flat out,” she said lightly, turning to her girlfriend and flashing her a smile. “I didn’t want to wake you – I know you’re not at work until 3.”

“Naw, thanks babe,” Kate said groggily, stealing a bite of Rana’s toast. “Thing is, I said I’d go help Daniel with this thing, he’s working on... with the… thingy. You know the one.”

Imran quirked his eyebrows. “The thingy? With the one?”

“My brain’s not working this morning, I’m a bit hung over,” Kate admitted.

“Oh yeah? Hit the vino last night did you?”

“I wish. I was doing shots with Gemma at the Rovers until 11, then we decided to go into town with Sophie and Rosie. Ended up doing karaoke in the Village. Wine hangover would be bliss compared to this rager.”

“Sounds… painful,” Imran said, noticing Rana’s jaw twitching. Clearly Kate’s boozing was something of a sore spot for his sister… especially as she clearly wasn’t involved in the festivities.

“You should probably order yourself something to eat, soak up some of that alcohol.”

Oblivious to Rana’s chiding undertone, Kate surrendered the toast and sighed.

“You’re right, as per,” she said stealing a quick kiss before climbing to her feet to order her breakfast.

Kate was barely out of her seat when Rana’s phone rang again, but this time, Imran snatched it up.

“Hello?” he said gruffly into the handset. There was no answer on the other end, just the sound of someone breathing. “Who is this?”

_Silence._

“You better stop calling this number, or I’ll be contacting the police, do you hear me?” he said under his breath, ending the call and slamming the phone down on the table top with frustration. He ripped the casing off the back and prised out the sim card, putting it in his top pocket to throw away later.

“Rana, I am telling this because I love you and it’s for your own good: you need to change your phone number. Or I’m telling Kate.”

“Okay, okay! I will.”

The young woman sagged in her seat and ran her fingers through her hair.

“Do you think they’re going to try something?” Rana asked him nervously, glancing over her shoulder to see whether Kate was listening.

“Mum and Dad? No. But you know what some of those nutters at the mosque are like – they think it’s the 1100s, not the 21st century. And the fact you left Zeedan for a woman…”

Imran softened when he caught Rana’s panicked expression and placed his hand gently on hers.

“What I’m saying is  _BE_ careful.”

“Right then babe,” Kate interrupted, oblivious to their conversation. “I better get going otherwise Daniel’s goin’ to have my guts! I’ll see you at home later, okay? I love you.”

“Love you too!” Rana replied brightly. A little too brightly, Imran thought, as he watched his sister track her girlfriend out of the door.

*************

“She’s not my responsibility anymore,” Zeedan said gruffly, stacking crates of Coca-Cola on the bar counter and marking them off on his spreadsheet. iIt was a Friday night and Speed Daal was fully booked, but he still had a tonne of work to do before opening and time was short. “You should be talking to Kate about this, not me.”

“And I would if I thought that would help the situation, but if I’m honest here mate, I’m not entirely sure that Kate could help – or whether she’s even safe herself.”

Zeedan scowled. “You really think they’d come after her?”

Imran dug his hands deep into his pockets. “I’m not sure what they’ll do… Or more worryingly, who’d be the one to do it.”

He was betraying his sister’s confidence by approaching her estranged soon-to-be-ex-husband, but after speaking to their cousins, Imran was worried. He’d lost touch with his aunt’s family after her divorce, but they were enough in the loop to warn him about the rumours circulating about his sister’s ‘scandalous’ behaviour. And according to Feroze, he wasn’t sure whether they were more scandalised by the fact Rana was gay, or that she’d walked out on her husband.

“Have you heard anything?” Imran asked.

“Not really. I haven’t been to mosque since all this happened,’” Zee admitted. “Too many looks. Too much gossip. It was doing my head in.”

“Well… If you hear anything…”

Zeedan stopped his task and sighed.

“If I hear anything, you’ll be the first to know.”

The pair shook hands and Imran smiled gratefully, “I’ll leave you to it.’

He was halfway up the stairs before heard Zee call him back.

“I’ll not let anything happen to her you know. Or Kate. What they did hurt, but it only hurt me, not those people. They’ve got no right to be threatening her” he said. “And they don’t speak for everyone.”

“Thank you,” Imran said, relieved to have an ally. He just hoped he wouldn’t need to rely on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slow and steady does the updates. Apologies for the delay in continuing this story, there's more mileage in it – and a few more chapters already written.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate's stuck babysitting Flora while Alya and Rana finally have 'the talk'...

If Kate had to spend one more second with Flora, she’d scream. She'd agreed to babysit the elderly woman while Daniel ran up a contact for the newspaper report he was working on, but from the second the brunette had stepped foot into her workmate’s flat, his aged housemate had been rambling on about how ‘her’ Daniel was too good for the likes of Kate. It was driving Kate up the wall.

“The thing is Flora, we’re on the same page, love,” Kate said. “While Daniel is indeed a good and handsome man, alas my heart already belongs to another, so you don’t need to worry – he’s all yours.”

Kate had never been one to hide her true rainbow colours, but the idea of outing herself to an octogenarian wasn’t top of her to do list for the morning. And her patience was beginning to fray as she checked her phone for the tenth time to see if Rana had replied to her texts…

“Like I’d trust the word of a flagrant trollop,” Flora said under her breath, but loud enough that Kate could hear her over the din of Loose Women.

“Err! I heard that. I’m no trollop, thank you! And seriously, I couldn’t care less who Daniel goes out with.”

“I’ve heard about you; you’re a man-eater!” Flora replied, wagging a finger aggressively in Kate’s direction. “First you broke poor Daniel’s heart over that kebab shop ninny, and now you’re leading him on while you’re courting someone else!”

“Wait? What?” Kate said, the penny finally dropping. “Flora, I’m not Sinead!”

Flora scoffed.

“I know who you are young lady, and I don’t approve. Daniel is such a sensitive, sweet lad. He’s worth ten of you, mark my words!”

Kate rolled her eyes and rummaged around her handbag for her purse.

“Here,” she said, handing her driver’s license to the elderly lady. “I’m not Sinead Tinker. For one thing, I can string more than one sentence together at a time, and for another, my name is Kate Connor. And lastly,” she added, crossing her arms, “I’m a lesbian.”

Flora scanned the card with skepticism.

‘You don’t look like a… lesbian,” Flora said, whispering the last word as she handed the card back.

“And what do lesbians look like?” Kate asked, bemused.

“They wear a lot of leather. And those jeans with the big turn-ups at the bottom. And your hair is too long for another!”

“This isn’t Grease you know! And it’s not the 1950s either – queer women look all sorts of ways. I mean, look at this one,” Kate said, grabbing her phone to show Flora her background picture of Rana.

“She doesn’t look like a lesbian either. You’re pulling my leg, she’s off the telly, isn’t she?”

Kate smiled. “No, but she’s pretty enough to be! She’s actually a nurse. And, well, I don’t know if she’s a lesbian, but I do know she’s mine.”

Flora smiled. “I suppose you are telling the truth after all, Kate.”

“Oh yeah?” Kate said, quirking an eyebrow. “Why are you suddenly so sure?”

“Well, you didn’t smile like that when we were talking about my Daniel now, did you?”

Kate laughed. “No, I did not!”

Flora’s eyes twinkled for a moment. “You know, now you mention that you’re a lesbian, I can see it. I thought that jacket you had on was a bit too square in the shoulders. And those shoes…”

Kate balked.

“And while we’re on the subject, I did know a couple of lesbians back in the Seventies….”

*********

“Rana, where are you? I’m starting to worry now. When you get this message, call me back will you?”

Kate shoved her phone back into her apron pocket and ran her fingers through her hair with a huff.

It wasn’t like Rana not to answer her calls, and she usually replied to her texts with break-neck speed. She rounded the alleyway and was already striding off towards the medical centre when she saw Imran coming out of The Kabin eating a chocolate bar.

“IMRAN! Have you seen your sister since this morning?” she shouted across the street.Imran’s eyebrows shot up in alarm as he slowed to a halt.

“No, why?”

“I’ve been ringing her and she’s not picking up, or replying to my texts. It’s not like her, I’m worried.”

Imran looked sheepish and fished Rana’s sim card out of his top pocket.

“Ah, that might be my fault. I err, I have her sim, it was on the blink. She must have scratched it or something. Anyway, I took it, said I’d get her a new one.”

“Scratched it? How’d she do that?”

“Beats me!” he guffawed. “You know Rana, she goes through phones faster than anyone.”“Yeah, but not usually sim cards,” Kate said, nodding along skeptically. “Give it here and I’ll take a look at it now, try it in my phone.”“No, it’s fine,” Imran said a little too quickly, closing his fist around the tiny object. “I said I’d sort it.”

“Seriously Imran, I can do it. Just give it here – you know what Rana’s like, she probably just had it in the wrong way round or something.”

“Honestly, that won’t be necessary, I told Rana I would sort it for her this afternoon. I’m just about to go to the shop now.”

“You’re acting seriously weird,” she said, quirking an eyebrow at her girlfriend’s brother.

“Sorry.”

“Well, I guess if she’s alright, I won’t bother her at work. But if you see her before I do, tell her she needs to let me know if she’s going off-grid. She knows I worry about her, especially since your mum and dad…”

Imran smiled through fixed teeth.

“Will do.”

*******

Rana was fast asleep in front of the telly when she woke to the sound of the door opening.

“Kate?” she said, sitting bolt upright.

“Alya,” her soon to be ex-sister-in-law replied coldly.

Rana shrank into the sofa. “Sorry. I thought you were –”“Yeah, I got that.”

Since Aidan’s death, the three of them had called an unofficial cease-fire, though it was wearing perilously thin in recent days.

Rana and Kate hadn’t officially discussed it but over the last month, she had been gradually moving more and more of her belongings into Kate’s room. Her toothbrush took up residence in the bathroom and her favourite biscuits were added to the communal shopping list on the fridge.

Alya had bitten her tongue for the first few days when Kate’s grief was at its rawest. But as the funeral drew closer, and Kate’s grief took twist after angry, drunken turn, Alya’s compassion had waned. And it was a bill that finally broke detente.

She and Kate had fought over whose turn it was to pay for the council tax; then over Kate’s drinking sessions in the living room. (“WHY DOES IT ALWAYS SMELL LIKE THE ROVERS IN HERE?”) They bickered over who’d used the last of the loo roll and finally Alya had lost it one morning when she found Rana’s uniform drying on the radiator next to Kate’s underwear.

(“WHY ARE HER CLOTHES EVERYWHERE? SHE IS NOT MOVING IN HERE,” Alya had screamed. “IN CASE YOU HADN'T NOTICED ALYA, SHE KIND OF ALREADY HAS!” Kate had screamed back.)

Zeedan had been surprisingly unsympathetic to her situation, but Alya had found a gentler ear in Josh, who encouraged her to lay down the law – only to have Kate spit it back in her face.

Now, they were in a state of limbo, neither of them willing to back down and neither able to move out. Kate couldn’t bear to be around her dad, and she and Rana had still not found a one bedroom place she could seem to afford on her meager salary.

“I text you earlier to say Josh was comin’ round tonight – he’ll be here any minute,” Alya said curtly, turning her back on Rana and piling groceries into the fridge..

“Sorry, I didn’t get it. I err, I changed my number.”

“Why?”

“Just kept getting a bunch of cold calls from overseas companies – think my number got added to one of those lists, you know. Anyway, I thought it was better just to get a new one.”

“Right,” Alya said skeptically. “So it’s nothing to do with the fact your family have all found out about you and Kate now then?”

“What?” Rana said in surprise.

“Like you don’t know! It’s talk of the town, everyone at the mosque has been gossiping about it for weeks – Zeedan’s phone’s been ringin’ off the hook.”

“He never said.”

“Funny that.” Alya said sarcastically. “No wonder you’re trying to hide from them; you’ve got a good right to be ashamed!”

“I’m not ashamed,” Rana hissed. “And it’s more complicated than that”

“Complicated? How was it complicated? You were married to my brother – that means you don’t go around sleeping with other people Rana.”

Rana braced herself. So finally, they were having THE conversation, were they?

“Look, I told you, I didn’t mean to –”

“Fall in love with Kate… Yeah, I know the tune Rana, but change the flamin’ record will you!” Alya growled. “You never meant to fall in love with Kate. Just like you didn’t mean to cheat on Faisal when we were at Uni, or that guy, with the second-hand car lot over in Salford. You never mean to do anything, do you Rana?”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“Why? Because it was my brother? Or because it was with a woman? Do you think that makes it okay, Rana?”

Rana gripped the kitchen countertop with anxious hands. “It makes it different,” she said quietly, averting her gaze.

Alya laughed sarcastically and shook her head.

“I know you don’t believe me, but I never meant to hurt Zee – I just didn’t know it was possible for me to feel like this about Kate, feeling like this for another woman, I swear!”

“HOW, RANA? How could you not know you’re gay?! You’re 25 years old. Why couldn’t you have figured this out before you married my brother?”

Rana’s eyes bore into the counter.

“I didn’t know what it I was feeling, okay, not at first. I never had these feelings before, not for anyone. It was really confusing, and I didn’t know what to do with it, and Zee and I were already married, and I couldn’t talk to you about it, or Kate, or Zee.

She sniffed, tears threatening to escape her eyes. “I didn’t know what to do! And I tried to ignore it, I promise you Alya! I tried to pretend it wasn’t happening but then it all became too much, and it came out and then…”

Alya shook her head in disgust.

She was about to launch into another tirade when the sound of Kate’s footsteps echoed up the staircase.

“The pair of you can do one for the evening,” Alya said, turning her back as Kate burst through the door, greeting Rana warmly with a smile.

“Hi babe. Alya,” Kate said, her tone instantly frosty when she spotted her housemate. “What’s going on?” Alya spun on her heels. “Your girlfriend was just explaining to me how it’s okay that she cheated on my brother because at least it was with a woman.”

“That’s not what I said,” Rana stammered.

“You want to watch this one Kate,” Alya said glaring at her former best friend. “She cheats on everyone – it’s probably only a matter of time until she cheats on you.”

Kate’s hand instantly connected with Alya’s cheek, shocking them both.

“That’s enough Alya,” Kate spat out through gritted teeth. “Despite what you think, Rana doesn’t owe you an apology for who or what she is. And you don’t get to say horrible things about us in our own home, okay. There’s enough shit going on in the world without you dragging it in here.”

Alya was stunned, her face blushing with the outline of Kate’s hand.

“And if you can’t do that, then I suggest you move out. Because I am sick of apologising to you. I am sick of you holding on to this vendetta against us. Rana’s been through enough – I’ve been through enough. Life is too short”

Alya’s mouth opened… And immediately shut. She made a beeline for her room, leaving a stunned Rana staring after her.

“I’m sorry,” Kate said softly to her stunned girlfriend.

“It’s not me you should be apologising to,” Rana said gently, putting her arms around her Kate’s waist and placing a kiss gently on her cheek. “I can’t believe you slapped her!”

“Me either!” Kate replied. “I hate violence, especially after Caz…” she said, worrying her bottom lip. “I’ll apologise for hitting her. But not for what I said. She needed to hear that.”

They held each other silently, slipping into their own thoughts before Rana nervously cleared her throat.

“Listen Kate, what she said about me, and my past…”

“Shhhh,” Kate silenced her, placing a finger on her lips.

“I don’t care what you did before, Rana. Or who with. And I don’t care whether you’re a lesbian or bisexual or a flamin’ martian. I know you love me, I feel it in my bones. I’ve always felt it, that’s what made ‘us’ so scary. And I also know you would never cheat on me.”

“I would never,” Rana agreed. “I’ve lost so much because of what’s happened: my parents, Zee, Alya. But honestly, I wouldn’t change any of it. You’ve changed my life. I’m yours for as long as you want me.”

“How about forever then? “ Kate joked. “I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life to meet you – there’s no way I’m letting you go now.”

“That’s settled then,” Rana said, stealing another kiss. “Now, did you grab milk on your way home? You drank the last of it this morning…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alya's obnoxious, but I don't condone violence. Kate's in a tailspin...


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mystery calls continue... how long can Rana keep Kate in the dark for?

“Who’s ringin’ you at this hour?” Kate said grumpily, pulling a pillow over her head.

Rana snatched up her phone and studied the glowing screen in alarm. Another withheld number. 

She stole a glance at the clock; it was 4 am, who _would_ be calling her at this hour?

Rana had followed Imran’s advice and changed her number, giving it only to a handful of people at the clinic, but somehow, the cold-calls had continued and her phone had been ringing off the hook.

“It’s probably one of those overseas call centres getting their timings wrong.”

Kate huffed and rolled onto her back as Rana killed the call, putting her phone into silent mode as she flopped back against the pillow.

If she was being honest, the whole thing had Rana’s nerves frayed but she did her best to hide her anxiety from Kate. Drop calls had turned into voicemails – silent except for the sound of heavy breathing – and Rana found herself constantly checking and rechecking her phone, a knot of worry building in her stomach.

Exhausted and afraid, she’d turned her phone off the night before but had slept through her alarm, missing her first hour of appointments and incurring the wrath of both Dr Gaddas and Moira. Tonight, she’d left it on but had forgotten to put it on silent, waking Kate.

“Next time give it to me, I’ll give them a piece of my mind,” Kate said groggily, pulling Rana in tight. “You’ve got to be up for work in a couple of hours, go back to sleep babe.”

Rana practiced a smile in the dark.

“Yeah, go back to sleep,” she said, rolling over to plant a soft kiss on Kate’s nose. “I’m going to the bathroom. You go back to sleep, I won’t be long.”

 

*****

“Babe…”

Rana awoke with a start and a stiff pain in her neck as Kate shook her gently.

“Where am I?” she said, disorientated.

“You fell asleep out here,” Kate said, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. “What were you doing? We’ve got a perfectly good bed – you don’t need to sleep in the kitchen,” she chided gently.

“Oh I went to the loo, and then I made myself some hot milk,” Rana said, piecing together her night. “I guess I fell asleep before I drank it.”

Kate looked at her in concern.

“Babe, you’re working too hard. This is the third night this week you’ve been up through the night. You’re going to get bags under your eyes at this rate!”  
  
“Sorry,” Rana rushed, slipping out of her seat at the breakfast bar. In truth, she had fallen asleep… but only after she’d spent hours worrying about the intentions of her mystery caller.

“Don’t apologise, I’m just worried about you is all!” Kate said affectionately, pressing a kiss to Rana’s temple. “Now, go get yourself showered. Your hair’s stickin’ up at all sorts of angles! I’ll make you some coffee before you go to work. Go on, go!” she smiled, pushing her towards the bathroom.

 

******

“Earth to Rana,” Imran said, bumping his sister gently on the shoulder. “Didn’t you hear me calling for you back there?”

“Oh, sorry Imran. I was miles away,” Rana said, adjusting her handbag over her shoulder.

Her brother gave her a weary look. “You okay?”

“Not really, no,” Rana replied truthfully, her eyebrows knitted in worry. Glancing around her to make sure they wouldn’t be overheard, she grasped her brother’s arm. “It hasn’t made a difference,” she hissed under her breath. “And now they’re leaving me voicemails; heavy breathing, the lot. I’m scared Imran.”

Imran’s face set.

“Well, who did you give your number to? There’s got to be a way of narrowing it down.”

“That’s the thing; I didn’t give it to anyone except for you, Kate, Yasmeen, Zee and work. How can this still be happening?”

Imran rubbed his eyes wearily, as the penny dropped.

“It’s probably my fault. I got the sim card from the Ali’s shop over by Coronet Street, registered the number while I was there. The Alis know the Awans, who know –”

“Our family,” Rana interrupted, her face crumpling with disappointment. “At least we know now,” she said, relieved at least she wasn’t going crazy.

“Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. And why the Awans would get involved, I don’t know! Muhammad can’t stand Dad, I dunno why he’d want to help him…”  
  
“Maybe they enjoy the gossip?” Imran suggested. “Probably haven’t got anything better to do in their own lives than sit around and chat about you and Ka–”

“Did I hear someone mention gossip?” Rosie bubbled behind them.

She and Sophie were walking arm in arm down the street towards them, the blonde with a wide grin plastered across her face. Imran’s eyes practically bugged out of his skull at the sight of his rather inept assistant. 

Rosie both amused and exasperated Imran in equal measures, and when it came to rumours, his assistant could sniff them out like a bloodhound.

“Y’aright Rana?” Sophie greeted with a nod of her head. Things were still a little awkward between the two women despite their recent night out on the town, but Rosie seemed to have forgotten all about the incident in the Rovers that had cost Rana a new shirt.

“Babe, you look dog-tired,” Rosie breezed, taking in Rana’s sleep-deprived appearance.  
  
Clearly the coffee Kate had made her that morning had done nothing to lift the bags under her eyes…

Rana chuckled, taking it in the spirit it was intended. “Thanks a lot Rosie. Remind me to come to you next time I need a confidence boost!”

“You know what I mean! Imran, you’re looking gorge as ever boss,” she said flirtatiously.

“Right Rosie, does this mean you can walk to work with Imran and Rana now instead of me? Sophie interjected. “Only I said I’d pop by the garage and see Dad…”

“I don’t need a chaperone, Sophie,” Rosie said, rolling her eyes. “But I do want to hear all about this goss you two! Who, what and why?!” she enthused, unlinking arms with Sophie and attaching herself to Rana, who smiled wearily.

“Oh, nothing interesting to you,” Imran said, wincing.

“Yeah, just a cousin of ours…” Rana stumbled.

“…Is getting married,” Imran finished. “We haven’t been invited to the wedding. But like I was saying to Rana, they’re basically strangers to us, so who cares?” he said, giving his sister a look that hammered home his subtext. 

“I love a weddin’ me,” Rosie said, completely missing the point of the conversation as she walked with Rana along the cobbles. “I always think about what I’m going to wear on my wedding day. I don’t think I’d wear white, but I could definitely go for something in pink. You know. Tasteful like…”

*****

Kate was drying her hair when she heard a buzzing in the kitchen. At first, she ignored it, but when it continued to ring and ring, her curiosity was piqued.

In her hurry to get out of the door, Rana had left it on the breakfast bar, and the screen was lit up with a dozen missed calls. 

“Someone must really want to speak to you babe,” she muttered under her breath, jolting when the handset burst into life in her hands.

_Unknown caller._

Kate hit the reject button, and replaced it on the countertop. “Uff, Rana!” she said in annoyance, remembering the 4am cold-call from the previous night. Rana must have barely slept a wink; she'd looked exhausted when she left the house, and her brain was all over the place. (She spent about 15 minutes looking for her set of keys, while holding them in her hand.)

Immediately, the phone started ringing again. _Another unknown caller._

This time Kate snatched it up. 

“Hello? Hello?” she said, listening for an answer on the other side. It sounded like a dead line and Kate was about to hang up when she heard the slow and steady sound of breathing. 

Her blood ran cold.

“Who is this?” she asked.

There was no reply, just a steady inhale and exhale and then a dull laugh. A man’s voice? Kate wondered. It was low and glottal. 

“I’m warning you, don’t call this number again,” Kate said angrily, her voice cracking as she hung up.

******

“Was it you?” Kate spat through gritted teeth.

Zeedan scowled in annoyance at the intruder in his kitchen. “Was what me?” he asked without skipping a beat as he chopped a bunch of coriander into a neat pile.

“Don’t play games with me Zee, I’m being serious here.”

“Look, you’re going to have to enlighten me here Kate because I haven’t got a clue what you’re going on about.”

Kate studied his face intently, looking for the faintest clue he was lying, but if he was, he was damn good at it.

“Phone calls. Loads of them. Heavy breathing. Ringing a bell?”

“You what?” Zee said, scrunching his face up.

“So it’s not you?” 

“I’ll say it again: what are you going on about?”

Kate sagged against the counter. 

“It’s Rana… Someone’s been calling her phone. Like, _really_ calling her phone. She’s had 10 of them today already, I answered and every time it’s someone breathing down the other end. It’s creepy.”

“Just block the number.”  
  
“I can’t, it’s withheld.”

Zeedan looked pensive for a moment. 

“Well what did she say about it?”

“Nothing. She left her phone at home when she went to work this morning, I only found it by accident.”  
  
“Is this why she changed her number?

Kate shrugged. “I reckon.”

“And she never said anything to you?”

Kate ignored the glimmer of satisfaction she detected in his question, and shook her head.

“Well,” Zee said, dumping the garnish on an order of saag aloo, and dinging the server bell, “it might be her parents.”

“You think?” Kate said in surprise. 

“I mean, if not them then someone close to them. They probably want to put the frighteners on Rana.”

“Why would they want to frighten her?”  
  
“Why else? Sending her to Pakistan didn’t work, so this is probably round two, to try and scare Rana off you. Maybe this is the start of something bigger.”

Kate’s eyes were wide with alarm as Zee banged the bell again, and a second later Kayla appeared at the door.

“Table three, and hurry it up, I’ve been dinging that bell for ages Kayla!” Zee scolded. The redhead disappeared with the plates and Zeedan turned his attention back to Kate. “If it were me, I’d go to the police, scare ‘em off. Short, sharp shock, that’s what they need.”

Kate mulled over his words carefully. “You’re right – if they’re threatening her, then they need lockin’ up. I’m not going to stand by while one more person I love is at risk. I’ll go to the police.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those who took the time to comment, I really appreciate your feedback.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rana receives an unexpected visitor at work

When Rana got the call from Liz, she thought the receptionist was joking. She’d imagined this scenario over and over in her head, but never in a million years did it take place in the office of the medical centre.  

Her workplace was her sanctuary, her safe place where she could shut off all the thoughts that swirled around her head and focus on helping her patients. Now she felt trapped in her office, a swell of of nausea springing in the back of her throat.

“Do you want me to send him through?” Liz asked carefully.

“You better. But Liz, can you er, can you call my brother? Please?”

“Of course darlin’” Liz replied. “Do you want me to call Kate too?”

There was no one Rana wanted more in that moment than Kate, but she knew that her presence would exacerbate the situation, and Kate already had enough on her plate without adding this to the mix.

“No, don’t tell Kate! If you can just ring Imran.”

“Ok sweetheart, I’m sending him in now. I’m here if you need me, okay.”

 

******

Rana had barely shut her office door when her father turned on her, his eyes wide with fury and his mouth turned into a sneer.

“You’ve really done it now!” he spat angrily, shaking his fist in Rana’s face.

Her mild-mannered father was a distant memory; Rana didn’t recognise the red-faced tyrant in front of her.

“Done what?” she asked in confusion.

She’d known that her parents would be upset when news of her relationship with Kate hit the community, but she hadn’t fanned the flames. If anything, she’d been deliberately lying low. When the crank calls had begun, she’d changed her number rather than go to the police. She’d cut off her old childhood friends (not that she saw them often) and Zeedan’s friends from the mosque. 

Rana looked at her father blankly – what had she done to anger them this time?

“You’ve had your mother arrested.”

“What!?”

“Oh don’t play dumb!” he rasped, pausing for a moment to catch his breath. Hassan was upset, his breaths coming in ragged gasps.

“What are you talking about Dad?”

“The police. They came and took her away. And in front of all our neighbours. After all the shame you’ve brought on us, you go and do this!”  
  
“I wouldn’t do that!” Rana cried, reeling in shock. “Despite what you and mum did, I still love you! I wouldn’t do that.”  
  
Hassan laughed spitefully. “Pull the other one. You’re just trying to pass the blame, like you always do!” he growled. 

As he took a step towards Rana she shrank back instantly, her back flush against the closed door. A moment of recognition crossed Hassan’s face when he realised his daughter was afraid of him.

His face sagged 

“Your mother, she was just trying to help you,” he said calmly, regaining his composure.

Tears filled Rana’s eyes.

  
“She was going to send me to Pakistan. And you were going to let her.”

“It was for your own good,” Hassan argued.

“No, it wasn’t. It was for you. To save face in the so called community,” Rana spat, her own rage growing stronger by the second. “First you paid Zee to keep me in my place, and then you tried to trick me to get me away from Kate.”

“That girl is nothing but trouble Rana! You weren’t like this before!”

Rana laughed dully at the preposterousness of the statement.

“Kate loves me. Which is a damn sight more than I can say about you and mum. Or Zee. She hasn’t turned me gay. Or made me do anything I didn’t want to do.”

Hassan shook his head.

  
“You’ve always been wilful Rana but this girl has got you in a spin. It’s not real! If you could only see what you’re throwing away, you silly girl.”  
  
“You mean a husband who’ll sell me for a cafe? Or parents who’re willing to send me to a country where they’ll stone me to death if they find out what I really am? Just stop it Dad.” 

Rana opened the door to her office.

“I don’t need your approval anymore. For the first time in my life, I’m actually happy. I love Kate and I’m not ashamed to say that. So you can either accept me as I am, or you can get out.”

Hassan clenched his jaw, as Imran appeared outside the door of Rana’s clinic room.

He looked at his daughter sadly. “I wish you’d never been born,” he said softly, and pushed his way past his children.

Rana’s jaw dropped at his words. Hassan was already halfway across the reception room when Rana finally sagged into her brother’s arms, and she let out a strangled sob.

“Shhhh, I’ve got you sis” he soothed gently, kissing her head. “I’ve got you.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rana's left reeling

“Aright Imran,” Zee said, greeting his business partner with a handshake. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

His smile faded when Imran slumped into a bar stool and plucked a straw from the bar top, twirling it between his fingers anxiously.

“I just got back from the police station,” Imran said soberly. “Do you know anything about my mum being arrested?”

Zeedan’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “No, why would I?”

“Someone told the police she tried to kidnap Rana. Seems they didn’t take it lightly, and mum’s been arrested: she’s staring down some serious charges.”  
  
“So she should be,” Zee replied sternly.

“As much as I agree with you, she’s still my mum. And my ever-forgiving little sis is in bits over it.” He smirked, sarcastically. “Dad came to see her at work, tore pieces off her. Poor Rana didn’t have a clue what he was talking about… Seems a bit odd that someone would go to the police now, don’t you think. Unless they knew something else. Something about the phone calls, say.”

Imran eyed Zee out of the corner of his eye, studying his reaction.

“I’m not saying you did it for the wrong reasons,” he continued as Zee turned his back and calmly poured a glass of water from a metal jug on top of the bar. “Or even that it was the wrong call to make – I just don’t understand why you did it now. Or why you couldn’t have given me some sort of warning.”

Zeedan huffed in frustration.  


“Look, whatever happened, your mum had it coming. But it wasn’t me that told the police – I wouldn’t do that.”

“Well if it wasn’t you, then who was it? You’re the only one that knows about the phone calls, besides me and Rana.” 

Zeedan mulled over the question for a second, considering whether he should tell Imran his futuresister-in-law was the one who’d pulled the trigger. 

“Tell me.”

Zeedan shrugged. “I think I know, but you’re not going to like it.”

  
********

Kate paced outside the medical centre frantically, fiddling with her watch as she peered through the glass double doors.

Moira had tacked a last minute appointment onto Rana’s shift, which had ended 20 minutes ago, and the last few patients were still trickling out of the health clinic with no sign of her girlfriend.

Between her shifts at the clinic and helping out at Speed Daal, Rana had been working herself into the ground. And though she’d been amazing since Aidan had died, for the last couple of weeks Kate had felt like there was a distance between the two of them she hadn’t been able to put her finger on.

Now Kate understood why. 

She was furious at Rana from keeping the phone calls from her but she knew that her sweet, overly-considerate girlfriend was probably trying to spare her the worry. And that made her worry even more. How long had this been going on for?

Finally, the door swung open and Rana appeared, denim jacket slung over her arm.

“Kate!” Rana smiled, genuinely happy to see her girlfriend. “What are you doing here? I didn’t think we had plans tonight.”

Kate’s anger dissipated instantly, replaced instead with the familiar swell in her heart she experiences whenever she was around Rana. “We didn’t. But I needed to talk to you,” she said calmly.  
  
Rana’s face dropped.

“What about? Are you okay?”

“No, Rana, I’m not. And it seems like you aren’t either,” Kate said gently, pulling Rana’s phone out of her pocket. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

“It was you, wasn't it?” Rana said sadly, taking the phone from Kate’s outstretched hand as her eyes filled with tears. “It was you that called the police.”

Kate braced herself and nodded silently.

“You had no right!”  


“No right? Rana, you’re my girlfriend, my partner – I have every right.”

“No,” Rana spat back angrily. “You don’t. You should have talked to me about it, before you went and had my mum arrested! She’s in a police cell right now, because of you,” she jabbed her finger angrily at Kate.

“I’m sorry you’re upset with me Rana, but I’m not sorry I did it. I wanted to protect you – I heard the phone calls, the weird text messages. You weren't safe!”

“Protect me?” Rana shrugged tearfully. “You’ve gone and made things a thousand times worse Kate. My dad came to see me; it turns out it wasn’t them. It was someone else from the Mosque. And now my parents don’t want anything to do with me.”  
  
Kate scrambled in her brain for a response.

“My dad told me he wished I’d never been born. Have you got any idea how it feels to hear your dad tell you they wish you didn’t exist?”

“I’m sorry Rana, I –”

“You what? Kate?”

“I…”

Rana wiped away her tears angrily, her voice hitching.

“I didn’t tell you because I was handling it, Kate. I can do that: handle things. I don’t need you fighting my battles for me. Okay.”

Kate swallowed the lump in her throat.

“I’m sorry.”

“Just go,” Rana said sadly. “I can’t bear to look at you right now.”

Kate staggered away, her face a mask of hurt and Rana felt her stomach clench with nausea.    
  
_Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck._

“Kate,” she cried out under her breath, wanting to call her girlfriend back, to make amends, to say she was sorry for her anger. But Kate was out of earshot, and all Rana could do was stifle the sob of anguish that threatened to consume her.


End file.
